COVID-19

What to Do “IF” Scenarios - COVID-19​ - July 2020

“What should I do if I am made aware (by an athlete or their family) that one of my athletes is being tested for COVID-19 for exposure or for symptoms?”

● The first thing you should do is ask them if they consent to the disclosure of this information to their teammates/parents/coaches/gym owners etc. They may consent to the disclosure of this information, to some, all, or none of these people.

● You are NOT allowed to tell any other athlete/family/coach/gym owner etc that someone is being tested for COVID-19 ​UNLESS​ the athlete or family in question consents to the disclosure of this information.

● You are NOT required to cancel practices while an athlete is being tested.

● You are NOT required to tell the individuals that were a part of the athlete in question’s group of 10 to self isolate/not come to the gym.

● The option that we recommend is to KEEP YOUR GYM OPEN with the condition that:

      • all athletes have no symptoms.

      • If an athlete is being tested for symptoms, we suggest that you are more strict with the symptoms of the athletes coming to practice. i.e. no headache, no muscle soreness, etc.

      • NO groups of 10 at that athlete’s team practice, only social distancing until the test results return.

      • Talk with your team and parents about how they want to proceed and if they would like to voluntarily not come to practice until the test results return. This is ONLY IF the athlete in question has consented to the disclosure of their medical information to their teammates/coaches/parents etc.

      • It is important to note that an athlete who is being tested for COVID-19 DOES NOT need to disclose to their gym/gym owners/coaches that they are being tested and self-isolating.

“What should I do If I am made aware that an athlete at my gym has tested positive for COVID-19?”

● If you are made aware by the athlete or that athlete’s parent, we recommend that you cancel all practices immediately.

● You are NOT allowed to disclose this information to anyone for any reason UNTIL you are contacted by public health.

● Public health will contact you as soon as they are aware of the individual’s positive test results and will give you instruction on what to do in regards to:

      • Length of gym closure

      • Sanitization

      • How to reopen

      • Resources

● If you are contacted by Public Health, the information that can be useful is:

      • The last time that athlete was in the gym

      • Who was in their group of 10

            • We recommend the coaches keep a record of this so they do not need to ask other athletes for this information (which could cause issues of medical information disclosure)

      • Who their coaches are

      • Any other information about who they were in close contact with

● Public Health will contact individuals who need to self-isolate and get tested. This is NOT the responsibility of the gym owner unless otherwise stated by Public Health.

“What is the protocol for athletes who are exempt from self-isolation due to their job or other reasons?”

● These individuals do NOT need to disclose this information to you.

      • There is a question on some gym's COVID-19 questionnaire that requires athletes to disclose if they live with a family member that has recently traveled outside of Atlantic Canada. We recommend removing this question entirely or updating it to let athletes and families know that they do not need to answer this question if they are exempt from self-isolation.

● You are not allowed to disclose their exemption, when or how often they travel outside Atlantic Canada to other athletes/coaches unless given consent by this individual.

● If an individual notifies you that they have traveled outside of Atlantic Canada within the last 14 days, but are exempt from the self-isolation restrictions, this also applies to their household, meaning their athletes do not need to self isolate upon the return of this family member and can participate in practices to the full extent of the current restrictions.

● If the family/athlete notify you of their exemption from the self-isolation rule, we recommend speaking with the athlete/family to understand the situation further

● If the athlete/family member leaves Atlantic Canada frequently (more than once every 14 days) some options you can discuss with them are:

■ That the athlete participates in practice with social distancing restrictions only, until self-isolation rules change.

          • This is up to the family/athlete to decide, as the athlete is exempt from the self-isolation rule and is entitled to practice to the full extent of the current rules if they choose.

● If the athlete/family member travels outside Atlantic Canada once, or rarely, some options you can discuss with them are

■ The athlete participating in practice with social distancing for the 14 day period, at which time they can rejoin the group of 10 rule.

          • This is up to the athlete/family to decide, as the athlete is exempt from the self-isolation rule and is entitled to practice to the full extent of the current rules if they choose.

Mask-Wearing - COVID-19​ - July 27 2020

It is mandatory that all entering/exiting the building wear a mask. If they’re not able to, participants are not required to wear a mask while doing the actual physical activity, but it would be up to the coach to determine whether or not they would consider themselves as participating in the physical activity themselves.

  • Non-medical masks are mandatory in places for sports and recreational activities such as a gym, pool, or indoor tennis facility, except during an activity where a mask cannot be worn.

  • If you’re at an indoor public place and you’re doing a physical activity where a mask cannot be worn, you can remove your mask for the duration of the activity, but you must wear it at all other times in the facility.

  • There are all kinds of physical activities that you can do while wearing a mask and some where you cannot. People need to use common sense.