Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Risky business - Sunshine Girls set to resume testing today despite uncertainty of date of COVID-19 testing

Published:Monday | October 5, 2020 | 9:31 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica’s senior women’s netball team during a training session at the Leila Robsinon Courts in St Andrew on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.
Jamaica’s senior women’s netball team during a training session at the Leila Robsinon Courts in St Andrew on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.
ROBINSON
ROBINSON
1
2

With the senior national netballers set to return to full contact training in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic today, Dr Paul Wright is concerned that this is a dangerous move by Netball Jamaica (NJ).

Tricia Robinson, president of NJ, told The Gleaner that all the protocols have been agreed to with the Ministry of Health and Wellness for the Sunshine Girls to resume training today, but she could not say when the players would have COVID-19 tests done.

“Training starts tomorrow, and all the players will be there because they are super-excited about this,” Robinson told The Gleaner yesterday.

“There will be the usual temperature checks and hand sanitisation at the training venue.

“We haven’t confirmed the date for testing, but they are going to be tested, but, hopefully, this week, it will be done.”

However, Wright said that this is a very risky by move NJ, and it should consider cancelling all contact training until the virus is under control.

“When you are coming back into contact sports, people will be sweating and getting into close contact with each other, and you cannot be training in a mask,” he said. “Therefore, you have to ensure that everybody who is involved in the training session is negative, including the asymptomatic people, and that is the ladies who have shown no sign or symptoms associated with the coronavirus.

“The next time you come for training, these people have gone home on public transport, into public places, at home, where other people are coming in and out of the house, and when they come back to training, you don’t know if they are infected again.

“Therefore,if you are not training in a bubble, it is extremely dangerous and not a good idea to go back to contact training.”

Wright said that many people who have tested positive for the virus do not have a high fever.

“I think they should hold off the contact training and do individual training under the supervision of a coach or a trainer that is present until we are out of this surge.”

The Sunshine Girls are preparing for their upcoming three-Test series against rivals in England in December.

robert.bailey@gleanerjm.com