SAI seeks to educate athletes

NEW DELHI: The coronavirus scare has prompted the SAI centre in Gandhinagar to conduct a workshop on the threats of the virus while athletes in Patiala have been sent emails regarding the dos and don’ts to observe during this period. A call on the usage of biometric system in all centres across the country is likely on Monday.

The centre in Gujarat had an elaborate one-and-half hour session wherein doctors explained how the virus worked and other relevant details. “The SAI Gandhinagar centre held a one-and-half hour sensitisation session for its staff and athletes where in-house medical staff explained about the coronavirus, how it spreads and how to avoid getting infected,” a SAI official said. There are plans to hold such sessions in the other centres as well but no time-frame has been mentioned as of yet.

In Patiala, posters were stuck in various parts of the campus while athletes also received a detailed email from the AFI wherein they have been asked to avoid large public gatherings apart from the usual recommendations. Till now, athletes have not yet started training wearing masks as they feel the town is quite safe. Interestingly, quite a few athletes and coaches have set the government health advisory as their caller-tune!

Even during the Japanese cultural workshop, lots of questions with regards to how to deal with the COVID-19 threat were raised by athletes in Patiala who attended the session. They were asked not to panic and to follow the rules outlined by WHO. While quite a few state governments have issued orders stating biometric system be closed for the time being, no such call has been taken by the SAI centres as of yet. However, an advisory is expected on Monday. “We are likely to send a notice regarding stopping the use of the biometric system across all SAI centres on Monday,” a SAI source added.