COVID-19 HYGIENE, SAFETY, & TESTING PROTOCOL
FOR TRAINING CAMPS AND COMPETITIONS
Introduction
This document presents a hygiene, safety, and testing protocol for day-long training camps or
competitions in amateur rugby in Switzerland. While this protocol attempts to maximize safety from the Coronavirus and minimize the risk of transmission, it is important to know that the risk is never reduced to zero. Nevertheless, this protocol aims to present a feasible, affordable, and realistic solution to put in place when holding all-day training camps or competitions in amateur rugby, where regular
isolating, testing, and “bubble operations” are not feasible.
1. Player Welfare and Risk of Injury
Player Welfare remains the most important consideration in Community Rugby and must be central to every activity. While this protocol aims to reduce the risk of contagion with the coronavirus, the “normal” challenges surrounding player welfare in rugby still remain and must not be forgotten. Particularly, rugby remains a contact sport and the risk for injuries still exist and may actually be exacerbated due to inactivity imposed by the Covid-related lockdown measures in most countries. It therefore remains important to consider risk of injury when planning playing and training activities. In particular, a 6-week “Return-to-Play” training period must be observed to progress from a non-contact setting to full-contact competitive rugby.
2. Local, Cantonal, and National Restrictions & Regulations
The rules and restrictions imposed by the national government, the cantons, and the different municipalities to combat the Coronavirus pandemic are numerous and can change very quickly. It is therefore important to check on the current restrictions and regulations in place at the time of the camp or competition planned. It is the responsibility of the organizer to ensure they comply with all these restrictions and rules.
3. Player Registration & Contact Tracing
When organizing a training camp or competition with a testing protocol, it is important to ask players and staff to register or sign up ahead of time, to ensure you know in advance how many participants will be present. Google Forms is one useful tool for this, but there are many others. At the same time, this ensures that you have all the information necessary for Contact Tracing, which must of course be done for each activity you organize.
4. Self-Assessment
Before coming to the Training Camp or the Competition, each player and staff must do a self-assessment. To do this, they must answer the following questions:
I. Do I have one of the following symptoms:
Fever over 38 degrees OR sudden loss of smell or taste.
II. Have I or anyone in my household been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have I been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 10 days?
If the answer to any of the questions above is YES, then the player or staff must not go to training or to the game and must inform the coach or manager. He/she should complete the Swiss Government’s Online Covid check https://check.bag-coronavirus.ch/screening and follow the advice given by the online tool.
5. Hygiene Principles
Players and staff should wear masks at all times, except when in training or competition activities on the rugby pitch or running track (in case of fitness testing or training). They should wash or sanitize hands before and after each training or competition session, avoid touching their faces, and cough or sneeze into their elbow. Each player and staff must bring their own water bottle, labelled with their name. In addition, they must strictly follow the Swiss, cantonal, and municipal hygiene rules and respect health, prevention, and all other recommendations.
6. Test Selection, Procurement, and Preparation
To lower the probability of contagion between players and/or staff at a training camp or competition, it is possible to run a mass-testing protocol using rapid antigen tests at the start of the day. There are several types of rapid antigen tests. Among them, the nasal and the saliva tests are the two types best suited for this protocol. The tests requiring nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs are more difficult to administer and therefore we do not recommend them for this protocol, unless performed by a trained medical professional.
NASAL SWAB SALIVA SAMPLE
test, the brand, the place of purchase, and the quantity.
There is also a possibility for each player and staff to bring his/her own “Free Self-Test”, which they can obtain from a pharmacy in Switzerland starting on the 7th of April 2021, by showing a swiss health
insurance card. In this case, the free test should also be applied in the same way as is described below: the participant brings his/her free test with him to the testing station, and the test is administered on-site.
In any case, make sure you procure enough tests to test every participant, including all players and staff. Next, ensure the person or persons who will be administering the tests (the “tester”) has familiarized themselves with the testing procedure and the instructions for this particular type and brand of test. A trained medical professional is highly recommended. In addition, they should perform at least one trial test beforehand. Lastly, some tests require prior preparation, such as preparing the buffer solution in the test tubes. Any preparation which can be done ahead of time will ensure smoother and more efficient testing on-site.
7. Testing Procedure
On the day of the event, each participant (all players and staff) should be tested upon arrival, before entering the changing rooms or engaging in any other activity. They should arrive wearing a mask and should only lift it for sample collection, and then keep it on until they receive a negative result and proceed to engage in training and playing activities.
a. Testing Set-up:
If possible, testing should be set up outdoors, before entering the changing, training, or playing facilities. (ATTENTION: if temperatures are below 8 Degrees C or above 35 degrees, tests may not work efficiently. In that case, testing should be set up indoors. Check the temperature specifications on the specific tests you are using).
With one testing station and efficient set-up and preparation, 45 participants can be tested in
approximately 1 hour. If you are able to set up 2 stations, testing time will be reduced accordingly. The required testing time should be planned into the schedule for the day, and participants should be asked to arrive earlier, accordingly.
b. Equipment for testing:
c. Protective Equipment:
The testers should wear adequate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) including a high-quality mask, safety goggles, gloves, etc.
d. Testing Procedure:
Participants arrive wearing a mask and proceed directly to the testing station without going to the dressing rooms or other places first. If necessary, participants should wait in line wearing a mask and keeping social distancing. If possible, they should wait outdoors.
Each participant proceeds to the testing station once the previous person has cleared away to the waiting area. For testing, follow the process indicated in the instructions of the specific tests you are using.
Number each testing device with a number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ….). When the participant arrives at the testing station, note the number of their test next to their first and last name on the participants list. This will make it easy to identify later which person may have tested positive or negative.
Generally: participants can be asked to perform the nasal swab on themselves and hand the sample collection stick to the tester.
If using saliva tests, the participant should spit the required amount into the collection device, and hand this to the tester.
The participant should then step to the waiting area (preferably outdoors) to wait for the result. Following the instructions indicated on the specific test, a test can take between 5 and 15 minutes to show the final result. Once the test shows a validated negative result, the participant can proceed into the facility, the changing rooms, or the practice/competition area. If any test result is positive, the participant should not enter the facility or take part in any activities. It is recommended that they undergo a PCR Test at a certified testing facility to verify the result.
After performing all tests, the used testing equipment must be disposed of in the correct manner, and the testers should wash and sanitize their hands and their other equipment.
e. Other Points to Remember:
Rapid antigen tests have a certain percentage of accuracy. They are never 100% accurate and do not provide complete certainty. All they do is reduce the risk for contagion, when used correctly, and in conjunction will all other measures listed above. Also, rapid antigen tests only provide an image of the very moment when they are performed. If a rapid antigen test is negative, it does not mean the person will not be infected and contagious the next day, or at another point in time.
If instead of a one-day event you are organizing a multi-day event, the testing protocol should be repeated every day to provide the highest level of security.
8. Vaccinations
As the Coronavirus Vaccines roll out across different nations and regions, testing protocols may be adapted in the future. At this time, however, it is not clear that vaccinated people can not carry the virus asymptomatically and transmit it to non-vaccinated people. On the contrary, it is believed that they can. Therefore, even participants who may have been fully vaccinated, must be tested
nevertheless, following the same procedures as above.
