Haryana Government said, under the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for containment of COVID-19, all Sports Complexes and Stadiums in the state have been permitted to open.

Giving this information at Chandigah, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sandeep Singh said, all the District Sports & Youth Affairs Officers have been directed to ensure maintaining of social distance to ensure availability of sanitizers at every point where needed. He said all officials, coaches and trainees will wear face masks. However spectators will not be allowed, he added.

The minister said that all sports staff and players shall use ‘Arogya Setu’ application. The instruction issued by PWD (B&R) in respect of use of Air Conditioners in office buildings shall be strictly followed, he added.

Mr. Singh said that Sports Department will ensure provision of health screening via non-contact thermal temperature checks also. The record of such screening will be maintained and awareness briefing of all the persons entering sports stadiums/complexes will be conducted by health department.

The Minister said that athletes with age less than 18 years have to take written confirmation from their parents. Swimming pool will not be opened under any circumstances.

Meanwhile,Sports Authority of India (SAI) has formed a committee to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure to resume training in all SAI Centres in all sporting disciplines after the lockdown is lifted. All training had been suspended across SAI Centres in view of the on-going Corona pandemic. A separate committee has been formed to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure for swimming, since the sport requires athletes to train in water and may have different health risks involved, as compared to other sport.

The recommendations of the Committees are being made in consultation with respective National Sporting Federations (NSFs) and other stakeholders and will be sent to the Sports Ministry for final approval. Our correspondent reports, all NSFs have been asked to share their recommendation of preventive measures that must be followed in each sport so as to ensure safety of athletes from COVID-19.

The first committee, headed by Secretary, Sports Authority of India Rohit Bharadwaj will recommend the Standard Operating Procedures describing protocols and preventive measures to be observed by all stakeholders, including trainees, coaches, technical and non-technical support staff, NSFs, administrators, mess and hostel staff and visitors, once training resumes. The SOPs will include in detail the guidelines to be followed on entry norms, santization guidelines, precautions to be taken in common areas and by athletes while travelling to and from the centre.

In other news ,Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat. In a series of tweets today, he said, their efforts have made it the largest healthcare programme in the world. Mr. Modi said, this initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden.

He said, it would make every Indian proud that the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed one crore and in less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives. Prime Minister congratulated all the beneficiaries and their families and prayed for their good health.

Mr. Modi said, one of the biggest benefits of Ayushman Bharat is portability. He said, beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they registered but also in other parts of India. He said, this helps those who work away from home or registered at a place where they don’t belong.