Reopening elite sport during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences from a controlled return to elite football in Denmark
As the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate decreased in spring 2020, phased reopening of Danish society began, including a reopening of elite football (soccer), adhering to a strict protocol. In this study, we report the consequences of resumption of competitive play in the two best football (soccer) leagues for men in Denmark measured by number of SARS-CoV-2 positive players. The players were tested weekly for SARS-CoV-2 for 11 consecutive weeks. The test protocol comprised 26 teams with 748 players. In total, 6511 tests were done with a positivity rate of 0.06%. The incidence rate of players testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 was 0.53% (4/748). There were no signs of a chain of infection. We found a low incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2, and based on this, a controlled reopening of professional football strictly following a detailed protocol appears safe for the players.
© Copyright 2021 Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. Wiley. All rights reserved.
| Subjects: | |
|---|---|
| Notations: | biological and medical sciences sport games |
| Tagging: | Coronavirus |
| Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13915 |
| Volume: | 31 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Pages: | 936-939 |
| Document types: | article |
| Level: | advanced |