September 18, 2020
by: Edwin James Calingasan
The Philippines had ordinated a Drills Only ordinance to condition athletes after four months of no sports activity in the country from March to June of 2020. Both contact and non-contact sports drills are now allowed for conditioning quarantined athletes in preparations of resumed sports events like Olympics 2020. During the said training, high-risk athletes who range from below 21 or above 66 are advised not to participate to avoid the risk of transmission. This also applies to pregnant athletes and ones who have pre-existing ailments that leave them highly vulnerable to the pandemic.
Since March 11, sports activities had been temporarily stopped for national security in the event of a global pandemic. However, in July, non-contact sports like basketball and football were allowed to hold sports drills. In the following month of August, competitions were allowed in moderate to low-risk areas but must still maintain health protocols. Currently, in September, student-athletes can now hold sports drills under the health protocols given by IATF like wearing masks and face shields. Most of the country is currently under Modified General Community Quarantine with moderate to low risk, allowing for less strict movements, have more participants, and availability of wider spaces to use for their training. However, for higher risk areas, sports activities are still strict and limited.
Updates are still coming as the pandemic is starting to slow down, but it is important to remember to exercise caution. Currently, sports are still limited to drills for safety purposes but will soon normalize over time as recently, recreational and non-professional sports are starting to be slowly allowed in public.