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Corona is back in control of the soccer and ice hockey championships. More and more professional-level matches are being postponed in Switzerland. After Lucerne – Sion and Lausanne – Vaduz, Servette – FCZ (eight cases in Geneva) and Lugano – YB (two cases in Ticino) must be rescheduled. Since matchday six this weekend, there is only one match left: St. Gallen – Basel. Starting Friday.
And in ice hockey? Half the league is in quarantine! With the SCRJ Lakers, Ambri, Biel and now the SCL Tigers, Zug and Servette, six teams are in isolation (preventive) due to individual crown cases. Of the five games originally planned, only one took place yesterday.
Handling varies
The pandemic is throwing a huge wrench into scheduling work. Or is it the quarantine management, which in turn can vary from one canton to another? This is exactly what bothers the Swiss Football League (SFL). Always isolate entire teams? The league is puzzled because they actually reached an agreement with the health service in the framework of developing the protection concept.
According to the SFL, preliminary discussions with the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) and the Swiss Cantonal Medical Association (VKS) resulted in “that the training units of the teams are not classified as close personal contacts in accordance with protection concepts “. Exactly the latter was recently taken as the reason for the team’s quarantine.
Will it continue like this? Despite the growing number of cases, the league is firmly committed to easing the quarantine rule. Austria could serve as a model here. The Bundesliga has repeatedly recorded positive crown cases in individual teams, but there were no postponements in the first five rounds. Germany also has the situation under control. Why? Because we try to avoid a team quarantine.
Only quarantined tested players
The Austrian model states that only players who tested positive should be quarantined. Quarantine is prescribed for the rest, but professionals can participate in team training sessions and competitions. Prerequisite: a negative test before each game. Also: players can only leave their homes to practice drives or matches. No shopping, no public transport. In short: no contact with anyone who is not part of the team.
The Canton of Ticino is also currently testing the Austrian model in an adapted form. At FC Lugano, players who tested negative can return to team training after five days of quarantine so that they can at least prepare for the next game together, of course subject to rigorous protective measures. A similar approach was taken at HC Lugano. Players were only allowed to leave the house to drive to training and return.
In a letter BLICK has, the SFL recommended the Austrian path to the cantonal doctors. Because at some point it would also be tight with scheduling postponed games.
Three demands for change
There is hope for change in ice hockey too. League manager Denis Vaucher has three demands:
First: “A uniform solution for quarantine is needed throughout Switzerland. Ideally, only the infected player and not the entire team should be quarantined, as long as the protection concepts have been met. “
Second: “You should be able to use the rapid tests, which will come from Monday, at least as a preventive measure in sport. This would clarify more quickly if the additional players are positive. That would help us. “
Third: “A shortening of the quarantine period in sport, in which a test is done after five days and if it is negative, at least you can train or, in the best case, even play.”
