FINA has announced that it’s established a COVID-19 taskforce in a press release on Tuesday, bringing together medical experts to monitor the spread of the virus and consider its consequences on upcoming FINA events.
“FINA is being proactive to secure the Olympic Qualifying System for our disciplines and to ensure our athletes benefit from both sporting opportunity and health protection. FINA’s long-standing focus on health means we can call on many widely-recognized experts in the medical field. We are very grateful for their time and their insights.”
In addition to analyzing the spread of the virus and forecasting its impact on FINA events, the task-force will also be responsible for recommending protective measures, informing FINA Member Federations on common public health strategies that will minimize spread, and coordinating with the IOC Medical Commission.
While FINA does not anticipate changes to the overall Olympic qualifying systems that are currently in place, we have already seen certain meets with Olympic implications impacted. Italy’s Olympic Trials have been canceled, and the entire nation is now on lockdown.
USA Swimming has also given an update on the situation, indicating that it will continue to work with and follow the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listing off some of the preventative measures that the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) have published.
Credit to Swim Swam website (News from March 10th, 2020).
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