At this point there are over 134,824 cases worldwide, 4,284 deaths and over 70,000 recovered. There are 123 countries reporting cases. The WHO has declared COVID-19 as a pandemic.

China, Iran, Italy: Level 3 – Avoid non-essential travel

• Do not travel to these areas at this time unless such travel is absolutely required for Olympic or Paralympic qualification. If you must go, use hyper-vigilant hand and face hygiene.

• In this context, with no available vaccine, this means to be hyper-vigilant about routine hygiene (see Level 1), and restrict travel to venues required for competition, training or accommodation. Avoid busy public places if possible.

• This includes proper hand hygiene (washing with soap for 20 seconds or use of hand disinfectants with >60% alcohol), covering coughs and sneezes with tissue that is then disposed of and hands cleaned, and avoiding contact with face, nose, or eyes with unclean hands, as well as frequent wiping of equipment and objects touched by hands.

Further Questions:

Further information about COVID-19 may be obtained from your NSO Chief Medical Officer or Team Physician, or the Chief Medical Officers of the Sport Medicine Advisory Committee.

This joint message is from the Own the Podium led Sport Medicine Advisory Committee comprised of Chief Medical Officers from the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN). It is meant to guide National Sporting Organizations (NSOs) in decision-making with respect to travel to competitions within and outside Canada. Information has been obtained from the World Health Organization, Government of Canada and Australian Institute of Sports websites. Other references are listed in this document. This advisory will be updated regularly and distributed to NSOs and other high performance sport partners.

The outbreak of severe respiratory illness related to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to have an expanding impact internationally. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides regular updates which guide our recommendations. The latest WHO statements can be found at WHO website on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

COVID-19 is a virus in the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses in this family are responsible for illnesses that range from the common cold to more serious illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV). COVID-19 is a new virus and so health officials are still learning about its impact and severity. At this time, it appears to cause an illness similar to the flu with the most common signs of infection being fever, cough and shortness of breath. In severe cases patients can develop pneumonia, severe respiratory distress, kidney failure and death.

It appears that COVID-19 is more contagious than the typical influenza virus.

The virus is transmitted primarily through respiratory droplets. Those that are experiencing symptoms are more likely to spread the illness than those that have the illness but do not have symptoms. There is ongoing research to determine if there are other possible modes of transmission such as fecal or air.

The estimated incubation period (time from initial expose to onset of symptoms) is between 1-14 days but is about five days on average. Symptoms can persist for longer than three weeks, although the duration of illness will be highly variable.

Recommendations for protecting yourself and preventing spread of this illness include frequent hand washing and covering both your nose and mouth when coughing. Try to cough or sneeze into your arm, away from others, or into tissue paper (to be disposed in toilet). Wash your hands immediately afterwards. You should avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness. Research on respiratory infections in travelling sporting teams suggests that the most likely pattern of spread occurs within a team, rather than from external sources. When an unwell team member joins the team, due to regular close physical contact between team members, the infections can spread readily (Valtonen et al, 2019). Consideration should be given for delaying travel for team members who are unwell.

Because the early symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to other respiratory illnesses, if you have any of the common symptoms (fever, cough and shortness of breath) you should contact your doctor’s office and arrange to have a consultation.

Treatment:

At this time, there is no specific treatment for COVID-19. The goals of medical management are to identify other treatable causes of illness (such as influenza), manage any complications from COVID-19 and provide advice on how to limit the transmission from known cases.

There are efforts internationally to produce a vaccine and to identify if any of the currently available antiviral medications are effective and safe. An update is expected to be released in mid-2020. A vaccine will likely take longer as it will have to go through longer clinical trials to confirm safety and efficacy.

We recommend that you check for up-to-date travel advisories from the Government of Canada at: Government of Canada COVID-19 Travel Advice.

On Airplanes:

Vigilant hand and face hygiene should be practiced. Stay hydrated.

The European Centre for Disease Control (EDCD) has published research into the risk of contracting Infectious Diseases on Aircraft. While there are currently no data available on the transmission risk for COVID-19 during airline travel, we look to the risk related to similar diseases, such as influenza and SARS. The ECDC concluded that the quality of evidence to assess the risk of transmission of influenza onboard an aircraft is not adequate. SARS transmission has been documented from airline travel with transmission most likely from those who are severely ill or those experiencing rapid deterioration, usually in the second week of their illness.

On Return from Travel:

Public Health authorities recommend some combination of self-monitoring and self-isolation on return from international travel; the specific advice of each provincial and territorial authority may vary depending on the regions traveled to, and can be found in the table above.

Athletes and coaches who are currently unwell with fever, cough or shortness of breath should delay their flight and seek medical review. If you become unwell during your flight you should notify the flight attendants, place a P2 or N95 face mask on and seek medical review as soon as practical on arrival.

Face Masks:

Face masks are most effective in preventing transmission when worn by people who are unwell. If you are well, masks only need to be worn by those who have close contact with those who are unwell (i.e., recommended for health care workers). Correct fitting of face masks is most important to their effectiveness. A good resource is the Australian New South Wales Health web site (How to Fit a Face Mask).

Athletes and Coaches:

Prior to travelling overseas for training camps and competitions

National Sporting Organizations (NSOs):