The sporting world hopes to meet with their public soon despite Covid-19. This Friday February 19, 2021, French Ministry of Sports said on France Info the government is willing to experiment the return of limited crowds in stadiums, by organizing “test-matches”. Arenas and stadiums are still closed because of restrictions instated to stop the spread of Covid-19 in France.
With this in mind, Roxana Maracineanu has confirmed talks with clubs will be initiated, “on possible experimentations to resume, as it is for culture”. Like the test-concerts promised by Roselyne Bachelot, test-matches will be played. The goal for sports is the same for culture: enabling to test specific health protocols likely to lead to the return of limited crowds in stadiums. “We can – based on very serious protocols they will present of course – study the possibility in some cities, in some clubs, to resume with protocols approved by the prefecture and the ARS” Maracineanu says on France Info.
🗣 Covid-19 : "Sur la santé et le moral des Français, arrêter le sport et ne pas le reprendre vite, ça va être inquiétant", déclare Roxana Maracineanu, ministre déléguée chargée des Sports.
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) February 19, 2021
Suivez le live 👇https://t.co/nmgnIm10yy pic.twitter.com/fqolK03NSY
Tweet reads: “Covid-19: ‘On the French’s health and moral, stopping sports and not resuming fast is going to be worrying’ Sport Minister Roxana Maracineanu states”.
In concrete words, these strict health protocols will go further in the prevention of the spread of the virus. Therefore, the latter may include “the possibility to vaccinate, and test stronger than before, the possibility to get QR codes to spot people who have been in contact and enable self-isolation” the former swimmer continues. Before seeing crowds returning to arenas, “we need to reinforce the already-existing protocols” the Minister repeats. “We must reinject these new data we have of the crisis managing and then we must experiment to reopen step by step” she explains.
Thus, Maracineanu has promised people will be able to “attend matches, indoors or outdoors, in closed arenas, from these experimentations”. While waiting for the results of these life-size tests, the Minister of Sports remind that sporting masks, soon to be delivered by French companies such as Décathlon or Salomon, are as many hopeful signs for athletes and sport fans. “The idea is to get masks leading to more responsibility so that we can use them in closed spaces. I hope it will enable to accelerate the reopening of closed places such as gyms” the minister confirms.
