… 2020 Summer Olympics still on

THE International Swimming Federation (FINA) has acknowledged the extraordinary nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing difficulties for the organisation of safe sporting events. However, plans for swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics are still on for it to be hosted from July 24 to 31 of this year in Tokyo, Japan.
With almost six months left on the calendar before the event, the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) can partially breathe a sigh of relief since officials have some time left to convince the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) that swimming is safe from transmitting the virus.

They have been trying to resume light training for the athletes who are potential candidates for the 2020 Summer Olympics but no permission has been granted for resumption of activities.
Just under a week ago, GASA was relieved to learn that the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships which was scheduled for March 26 to April 7 was postponed. This was good news since their swimmers have been inactive for close to a year. That postponement came with the rise in COVID-19 cases in the host country, Barbados.
In consideration of these extraordinary circumstances, the FINA Bureau issued a document to provide mandatory guidelines for the resumption of competition in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The 44-page document states that Federations should have their own detailed COVID-19 mitigation plans in place, in line with local government guidelines, and remain responsible for implementing necessary measures in regular domestic environment. National Federations are responsible for preparing competition in a safe environment, ensuring they follow national and international guidelines and safety recommendations. FINA released guidelines for every water related event which includes water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water, high diving and traditional swimming. The document stated, “Swimming pools are already generally safe from the perspective of viral transmission/serious health risks and when hygiene measures are implemented there should be minimal spread of infection. The virus responsible for COVID-19 has a fragile external lipid membrane, rendering it less stable in the pool environment and more sensitive to oxidants such as chlorine.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), conventional methods employing a centralised water treatment system using chlorine filtration and disinfection are deemed capable of inactivating COVID-19. Although the virus has been reported in river water, it has not been detected in drinking water and, based on current evidence; the risk of COVID-19 viral transmission via drinking water is very low. It also reports that, for effective disinfection of the water, there should be a residual concentration of free chlorine. As further confirmation, it has long been demonstrated that free chlorine of at least 0.5 mg/litre ensures deactivation of SARSCoV (from the same family as the COVID-19 virus). Therefore, water used in swimming pools should be of the same quality as water for human consumption.

These principles are consistent with the opinion of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the reference point in USA for the application of all measures of disease prevention and control: “Conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection, like those in most of the municipal drinking water systems, should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19”. There is no evidence of COVID-19 being contracted through drinking water.