SPORTS EQUIPMENT PRESENTS 'LOW RISK' OF COVID-19 TRANSMISSION, ACCORDING TO STUDY

A major barrier to restarting sport may have been lowered by a new study.

Researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine applied live virus particles to nine types of sports equipment and a control material. They concluded that it "seems unlikely" that sports gear and and accessories are a major cause for transmission.

They also found that there was "rapid decay" of viral particles across various types of equipment, and it was "very difficult" to transfer live virus back off it. Close contact between participants in sport was still thought to be the biggest risk for transferring the virus.

Different materials had different properties of retaining live virus – notably, the study found there was a noticeable difference in the viral recovery of red and white cricket balls.

This is potentially a bonus for archery clubs and gives a chance of restarting have-a-gos and beginner's courses, which invariably use shared equipment. Both are also significant ways that clubs earn money, with many memberships currently dwindling.