Federations to begin talks

By ROBINSON LEKA
NATIONAL federations will begin talks with venue management teams this week to discuss their back-to-sports Covid-19 protocols, says an official.
PNG Sports Foundation chief medical officer Dr Kapua Kapua told The National that the discussions were essential for the return of sports.
“For some of them (national federations), it has drastically changed the way they play their sports so that they can mitigate the risk of transmission,” he said.
“They’ll have to sit down with the venue management team and ensure that those matters are addressed.
“Different federations have scheduled their time to meet the team and discuss their protocols.
“There will be an overriding protocol for venues so they’ll be looking at hand-washing, social distancing and venue sanitisation.
“Gyms will run differently as to what it has been before in terms of cleanliness and how many people are allowed within a certain space to abide by social distancing.”
Kapua reminded the federations and venue management teams of basic health checks which would be a requirement for all sports to follow.
“Let’s say an athlete or a member of the coaching staff shows symptoms of cold and flu-like coughs and runny nose, this person will not be allowed to enter a venue,” he said.
“If they are sick, they should not be training at all.”