Safe sports for athletes and spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic
This PPP combined expertise from virology, aerodynamics, droplet physics, transport in porous media and crowd control towards the safe and full reopening of (semi-)indoor sports venues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The consortium consists of Eindhoven University of Technology, Leiden University and Medical Center, Utrecht University, Johannes Kepler University in Linz (Austria), Johan Cruijff ArenA, Bovano Basketball (Maaspoort) and PlasmaMade.
Infection risks exist for athletes and spectators in crowded football stadiums, indoor sports halls and fitness centers. The project focused on these three types of venues with five case studies: ArenA, Maaspoort and three fitness centers. Sports have an important role in the society. Top sports “lead by example” and stimulate mass participation in recreational sports. This way, they help reduce the burden of disease and on healthcare services by promoting a healthy lifestyle. They also generate substantial economic revenue. Fitness is the number one sports activity and football the most popular sport in the Netherlands. Decreased fitness activity, empty or near-empty stadiums and sport halls, lower sports goods sales, diminished social revenue in health and well-being and cancelling “hallmark” events were having detrimental consequences due to measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This PPP provided the lacking fundamental knowledge towards safe and full reopening in five workpackages: Virus dose and duration in aerosols; Individual droplet and aerosol emission; Aerosol concentrations inside sports venues; Crowd control; Overall risk assessment methodology, guidelines, communication, dissemination.
During the project a numerical modelling framework has been developed for the aerosol based COVID transmission within stationary or moving spectator crowds. In addition, a literature study has been reported on virus dose and duration in aerosols and infection risk. Furthermore, a COVID-19 risk assessment methodology (RAM) has been developed based on the results from WP1-4.
