COVID-19 and conduction of sports event: Risk assessment and risk mitigation

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant amounts of interruption in the different domains of life in all the affected nations. Owing to the pandemic and due to the fear of the emergence of a new chain of transmission, most of the planned events or religious events have been canceled or deferred, and the same stands true even with sports events. However, gradually, the sports events have started to happen again in some of the settings; nevertheless, we have to keep in mind that most of these sports events include mass gathering, and thus, it becomes a must to take appropriate precautions to avoid any outbreaks of the disease. In general, it is expected that all the organizing bodies should conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the sports event. In conclusion, ensuring the safety of the participants, audience, and the general population has to be given the utmost priority while planning any sports event in the current times of COVID-19 pandemic. The need of the hour is to perform a thorough risk assessment and take a decision based on the prevailing risk, the quality of risk mitigation measures, and the effectiveness of the risk communication system.