Covid-19 tests of all cyclists, support staff return negative: SAI

The COVID-19 tests of all cyclists and support staff, who have been in quarantine on arrival ahead of the national camp beginning on August 14 here, have returned negative, the Sports Authority of India said on Saturday.

The team of 11 cyclists, four coaches and 16 support staff have already reported for the camp at the Indira Gandhi National Stadium and are undergoing mandatory quarantine.

"As a proactive, mandatory step SAI has administered the Covid test to all participants, including athletes, coaches, support staff (sporting and non-sporting such as housekeeping, cooks etc) on arrival. The test reports confirm that all of them are Covid negative," the SAI said in a release.

As a further precautionary measure all of them will undergo tests before the start of the camp to ensure that everyone attending the on-field training from August 14 and interacting with athletes are free of coronavirus.

"The quarantine zone where athletes, coaches and support staff are housed has been earmarked as the Green Zone and no outsider is being allowed to access the zone or interact with the team in order to ensure complete sanitisation," the SAI said.

"Additionally, a doctor and nursing staff have been stationed in the facility around the clock so that any sudden emergency can be dealt with. The SOP drawn up by SAI and the Health Ministry guidelines are being strictly implemented on campus," it said.