Covid risk rated ‘extraordinarily low’ from playing outdoor sports

The risk of catching Covid-19 from playing outdoor sport is “extraordinarily low” and there were no known cluster outbreaks when sports returned, according to medical experts.

With organised sport resuming again today following the third national lockdown, individual governing bodies have each designed their own Covid-secure guidance to ensure that their activities will not be forced to shut down again.

A series of studies has analysed the risk factors involved with playing sport and the repeated message is that the biggest potential for problems lies not with the activities themselves but if protocols with respect to spectating, travel, changing and socialising are not followed.

“From the data we have looked at, and the work that has been done on back-to-play protocols, the risk of playing outdoor sport is extraordinarily low,” said Prof Mike Weed, of Canterbury Christ Church University.

“It seems from what we know last summer that the protocols did mitigate against cluster outbreaks. There have been no examples of any significant cluster outbreaks.

“The risk comes from the things around it and potentially bringing together groups of adults if it is kids’ sport. Even then, to be honest, those risks can be mitigated and are not hugely significant in the overall scheme of things.

“Grass-roots sports can get demonised a bit – pictures of big crowds or groups of people can get people up in arms. But, if you look at it objectively, the risks are lower than what many people are doing as part of their everyday lives.”

There are essentially three ways of catching Covid-19: from droplets, surfaces or aerosols. But, according to Weed, there is “more and more recognition” that aerosol is probably the primary transmission route and “it is virtually irrelevant outside”.

Indeed, in his wider study of how Covid-19 has been spread, Weed said that there were “very few – almost negligible – examples of outdoor transmission in everyday life”.

His work has helped to inform parkrun’s protocols for its return for children next month and then adults in June. Key advice has been to mitigate the high density of participants at the start-line and the time spent waiting together. “Once the event starts people spread out – that they are all facing the same way mitigates the risk as well,” he said.

Prof James Calder, the chairman of the Government’s committee on the return of elite sport, also said that there had been no known cases of transmission on the football pitch.

Analysis in rugby union and rugby league has also suggested that the virus is not being spread during the contact that may occur in gameplay and that off-field mixing represents the main risk.

In Scotland, there was such confidence in the low risk of outdoor transmission that golf and tennis continued even during the third lockdown.

“We need restrictions where we know transmission occurs more often and less restrictions where it is safer,” said Prof Devi Sridhar, who has been advising the Scottish government.

“Outdoor transmission is minimal we know – especially with distancing for outside sports.”