CHENNAI: IN a fresh Covid-19 scare at National Institute of Sports, Patiala, a bank employee and a mess manager tested positive on Monday. Two foreign coaches, who visited the State Bank of India (SBI) branch housed inside the institute, were asked to quarantine as a precautionary measure.
“Neither the bank employee nor the mess manager came in contact with athletes or coaches. The athletics coaches visited the bank after office hours last week. They didn’t meet the infected employee, but we asked them to quarantine at the facility at the centre after consulting doctors,” a SAI official confirmed to this daily.
“The mess manager went to his hometown outside Punjab and returned to the facility on August 11. He was asked to isolate himself and a Covid-19 test was conducted on him on Saturday. After testing positive, he was shifted to a quarantine facility set up by the district administration outside the institute premises on Monday,” added the source.
With two new cases surfacing at the centre on Monday, the tally has risen to five. Indian boxing team’s doctor Amol Patil had contracted the virus last month and has recovered now. Two others in the medical staff had tested positive earlier this month.
The facility has been divided into three zones — red, orange and green. While the athletes and coaches reside and train in green zone, administrative staff and bank come under red zone. The quarantine centre for athletes and coaches are in the orange zone. Presently, two weightlifters are serving a mandatory quarantine period at the makeshift centre.
National camps for boxing, weightlifting and athletics are underway at NIS. This will not affect the ongoing camps as we have been following the protocols strictly.