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Current practical considerations

Administrative staff as well as Chief Medical Officers should be familiar with the current case definitions for COVID-19 as outlined by Communicable Disease Network Australia, opens in a new tab (CDNA). CDNA outlines what a confirmed case of COVID-19 is, what a probable case is and who should be considered a suspected case, including who should be investigated for COVID-19. This will help administrative staff understand the current risk and implications if a positive case is identified within a sport or workplace.

What is most relevant currently for Australian event organisers and hosts of international sporting teams:

  • A confirmed case is a person who has had a laboratory confirmed test identifying the presence of the virus.
  • Laboratory tests may not always be available, and it is useful to have other ways of identifying cases, this will include a combination of epidemiological (exposure) and clinical criteria that is identified by treating doctors. These may be referred to as a probable or suspected case.
  • In the elite sport setting from a risk management point of view probable and suspected cases should be approached in the same manner as a confirmed case, even though a laboratory test may not have been conducted. Medical input is required to determine an investigation and management plan for all cases. Non doctors should not be independently referring athletes and staff for investigations.
  • The epidemiological criteria will continue to change based on where areas of COVID-19 outbreak occur in and outside of Australia and what exposure individuals have had to these in the 14 days before the onset of symptoms.
  • People who have been in a team sport setting or training camp with a confirmed case of COVID-19 would likely be considered a “High risk setting” by the local public health unit.
  • All healthcare workers with direct patient contact automatically fill the epidemiological criteria should they become unwell with a clinically compatible illness. Clinicians should have a continuity plan should they find themselves in isolation or become unwell.
  • Public spaces and flights that have had known COVID-19 exposure are listed by state health departments. Doctors and administrators should check these sites regularly.

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