Testing time for Kiel Week
One of just a handful of international events that successfully took place this year was Kiel Week, which saw hundreds of sailors compete across 19 classes, including ORC yachts, doublehanded keelboat and Olympic fleets in early September. Despite the ongoing threat of COVID-19, the German event managed to run thanks to a number of protective measures, including rapid on-site COVID-19 testing which allowed competitors to be screened for the virus in seconds.
Face masks were mandatory in the event area, and all competitors were issued Corona Warning Bracelets with a ‘Corona-warnapp’ to automatically detect potentially infectious encounters.
Every competitor was also requested to undergo a multi-stage COVID-19 testing programme. Access to the site was only granted after passing a temperature test. If a high temperature was detected they were given a rapid saliva test which was able to detect COVID-19 within a few seconds.