Evaluation of the risks associated with the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during a professional football club's training in Brazil

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 is an infectious disease with respiratory transmission caused by the new coronavirus. Due to the high viral transmissibility, sports activities were severely impacted all over the world and in Brazil football was paralyzed for about four months. The objective of this study was to identify the activities with the highest risk of Covid-19 transmission in a professional soccer club in Rio de Janeiro based on a cross-sectional study with a semi-quantitative emphasis. The results showed that physical training showed a greater number of touches (105) with a high prevalence of hand on the ball (94%). The antibody search found that 24,2% tested positive for IgG during the study. During the training phase, no cases of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between players and staff were identified. It is believed that biosafety measures and the individual and collective commitment of everyone to social isolation and hygiene measures are an important strategy for the viability of sports activities.