Yesterday the IOC and Tokyo 2020 made the official announcement that the Games would now be postponed to 2021 which will allow athletes to have some certainty and reduce their training.
Hygiene and Social Precautions:
- All Canadians should stay at home, work from home, and exercise at home to the extent this is possible. The actual regulations may be different from Province to Province but the essential principle is the same.
- Maintain a distance of 2 metres from other people.
- There is a preferred hierarchy for handling coughs and sneezes.
- Best practice is to expel respiratory droplets into disposable tissue, dispose of it safely, then immediately wash or sanitize hands.
- Expelling respiratory droplets onto a flexed elbow is better than no protection or an unprotected hand but it is non-optimal, as virus then remains on either the clothing or skin of the elbow depending on attire, either of which then need to be washed.
- For protection of others – assume you are infected and behave as such.
- For your protection – assume all others are infected and behave as such.
Updated Government of Canada Recommendations:
- All Canadians are being urged to stay at home where at all possible.
- All non-essential travel outside Canada is to be avoided, the US border is closed to non-essential traffic. All Canadians currently abroad are urged to return to Canada ASAP.
- All travellers returning from any destination outside of Canada are required to self-isolate for 14 days from the date of return (see the infographic below for specific information on what is involved in self-isolation).
Exercise and Daily Training Environment:
At this time, all athletes (Summer and Winter sports) are strongly recommended to reduce training regimens, and instead exercise moderately in isolation from others to maintain general health, work on stability, core strength, fundamental movement quality, and so on.
Under the guidance of their NSO coaches, athletes should seek out specific support services to manage transitions in exercise, nutrition, and health needs. The first recommended contacts for physical and mental health issues should be NSO Physicians and NSO Mental Performance / Sport Psychology providers. Athletes who do not have access to NSO health professionals can obtain advice from relevant professionals at COPSIN Institutes and Centres as listed in the link below.
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) Update:
- The CCES has significantly reduced operations, testing only where necessary and possible. (Read our updated advisory note here: https://cces.ca/news/updated-cces-statement-regarding-covid-19).
- CCES is following guidance from public health officials and any decision to test is being taken with full consideration for the health of athletes, sample collection personnel and public health.
- During this time athletes are still subject to the CADP.
- Athletes who are part of the CCES’ or their international federation’s Registered Testing Pool should complete their whereabouts as best they can before the deadlines.
- Athletes are reminded to verify the status of medications using the Global DRO (www.globaldro.com) and to submit an application for a Therapeutic Use Exemption if prescribed a prohibited substance.
- The CCES’ athlete services team are also available to provide support for online learning.
AN UPDATE WILL BE PROVIDED EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4:00 PM EDT OR AS REQUIRED.
