An allegation on Facebook that the continuation of professional sporting events is proof that SARS-CoV-2 is false is false. The virus, which causes COVID-19, is real – and although sport has resumed in some countries, it is not normal again.
The Facebook post making the claim was uploaded on March 4 and has nearly 1,000 likes. It reads: “If pro-athletes really had a killer pathogen, would they risk their lives to play their sports every day? Of course not. They know it’s a stage show or that they would not play. They know they are actors. They play their part in the greatest deception ever orchestrated in recorded history. Athletes are under the control of payroll ”(here).
However, the pandemic is not a ‘fraud’. It is also wrong to conclude whether COVID-19 consists of the actions of athletes.
Chinese authorities identified SARS-CoV-2 on January 7, 2020 as the cause of a group of pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan (here). On March 10, it killed more than 2.6 million people worldwide (covid19.who.int/).
Sporting events were massively canceled when the pandemic first occurred (here), and there were concerns that athletes could be vulnerable to serious consequences from COVID-19 (here).
In the United States, however, it has been argued that professional sports should be resumed, as they are multimillion-dollar enterprises that also have a positive effect on the country’s morale (here, here). This has led to the return of some events, although stadiums are empty for fans and strict social distance and quarantine protocols to keep players safe (here, here).
New research has also suggested that COVID-19 does not pose a major risk to athletes. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in February 2021 found that outdoor football involving close contact between athletes carries a limited risk of infection and serious illness if preventative measures are in place. In March 2021, a North American study written by medical experts from Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other major sports leagues found that there were very few cases of inflammatory heart disease among professional athletes who had mild cases. of COVID-19 (here).
However, elite sports did not escape the pandemic. In January, players in England’s Premier League had to secede for ten days after testing positive (here), while the NBA and NHL (NHL) games in North America were postponed following a boom in business (here). Former world tennis player Andy Murray tested positive for the new coronavirus in February 2021 and had to miss the Australian Open (here).
The British government remains cautious and in February 2021 set out its plan for a “coordinated resumption of elite sports training and competition” required “before each return to competitive sport itself” (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. The continuation of elite sports is not proof that the pandemic is a hoax. Like the rest of the world, professional athletes have faced canceled matches and are dealing with new regulations to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.