The return of Covid-19 in L1? "The players contaminate themselves outside the stadiums"

• Coronavirus cases have been detected in several Ligue 1 clubs,
• The situation worries, two weeks before the recovery
• For the epidemiologist Antoine Flahault, it is less the football match in itself than the behavior of players outside their clubs that we should be wary of

Let us start with a cliché: everything goes very quickly in football. One day you see big and dream of seeing the stadium gauge at more than 5,000 supporters, the next day the coronavirus brings you back to reality by infiltrating the workforce of several Ligue 1 clubs, slowing their summer preparation to two weeks of the recovery. Cases in Lille and Nantes, first, then in Strasbourg and Montpellier, which faced each other on July 27 in a match before which the Alsatians had not considered it useful to be screened again since they had already submitted to the nasopharyngeal test the day before another friendly, against Nîmes.

Not badly shaken by the virus since the start of the epidemic, the MHSC did not hesitate to lecture its last opponent in a statement: "our opponent Strasbourg did not repeat tests before facing us and now has nine cases within its workforce. […] Tests carried out this Friday will determine whether the match against Strasbourg has created other cases within the group. "

The MHSC believes that Racing Strasbourg did not do enough tests https://t.co/8Vt5RvlysW

Who is right, who is wrong, history will tell. The important thing is elsewhere. The resurgence of cases of coronavirus and its reappearance in the workforce of Ligue 1 poses problems that we will have to be able to respond to before August 21, in particular with regard to the harmonization of health protocols, which the League has already promised that they would be readjusted in view of the context. In the meantime, 20 Minutes asked some football and coronavirus questions to Antoine Flahault, epidemiologist and director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva.

The cases are increasing in France so inevitably they are increasing in French professional football?

No, it is never inevitable to be infected with Covid-19 in the sense that it is a disease transmissible between people and whose transmission can be reduced. And in general, it is when you have not reduced the risk of transmission that you are infected. In particular in circumstances which today, in the epidemiology we have and particularly that of Geneva for example that I know well, 40% of new infections this summer are in night clubs and bars. These are young populations, no doubt like those of footballers, who, during parties either private or in public places, become contaminated because it is difficult at such times to have barrier measures.

Football has the advantage of being played outside, but running next to a player, tackling a player, being out of breath next to a player are perhaps all risky behaviors?

I think it would be interesting to ask the contaminated players if they have frequented bars or badly ventilated places, closed, in which they could also have been contaminated and at that time to see if there is no of clusters revealed. Or if it is indeed via the game itself outdoors. There are very few documented cases outdoors. Even in matches like the one between Atalanta Bergamo and Valencia, there were no barrier gestures but there was also a third half in the bars and this is where people mainly got infected. But it's not necessarily in the stadiums. Until now, the outdoor environments were environments that dilute the particles a lot, in particular the small postilions and not very conducive to the spread of Covid-19. Until proof to the contrary, it is often indoors that these footballers are contaminated.

So despite the promiscuity encountered during a football match, it is not a favorable context because it is played outdoors?

Yes, because you know, they say you have to be very promiscuous but for more than 15 minutes. The soccer match, assuming that one of the players is contaminated, can expose you to this player but most of the time on very short contacts, which last a few seconds. In my opinion, these contacts are very little risk. The most risky contact, I think, is when the player goes to the locker room, goes to the dining rooms, probably has a young life not very concerned about the Covid-19. Young people today find themselves more bored by Covid-19 than worried about the disease.

Players from several French teams have recently been infected, including those from Strasbourg and Montpellier, who clashed. The Alsatians had tested negative before a match against Nimes, four days earlier, but did not repeat before playing Montpellier. So there is no margin for error?

It's a bit worrying but I would put it in perspective for two reasons. The negative test does not indicate the absence of the virus. There is the sensitivity of the test which is in the order of 60%, so there are a number of people who can be negative while carrying the virus. The opposite is less true. When you have a positive result it is 99% but when you have a negative test you cannot be said to be a non-carrier. The second thing is that the test is not pleasant and as long as we do not have a saliva test or an easier test than this nasopharyngeal test we can understand that footballers do not want to be done. test every week. You have to listen to that, and why not think about other less invasive tests, even if they are less sensitive.

In some cases, contact cases can be quarantined for a week. In others, we will rather isolate only the positive player. Which solution is the best?

Quarantine of contact cases is a standard that has been imposed with Covid-19 so I understand that it is recommended as soon as we realized that infected people could transmit the virus before they have symptoms. However, these contact cases who have no symptoms can transmit the virus and it is still better that they do not play during these periods. I understand the principle fairly well, it is real prevention to quarantine contact cases.

Is it viable in the long term?

The issue of football should be treated in a different way. We are dealing with young people who should be protected as if they were people at risk or elderly in terms of Covid. If you want to avoid contamination, I don't think it's in the stadiums that people get infected, I think it's somewhere else that players get infected. It is this elsewhere that the players must avoid. I do not think it is viable because as long as there is no vaccine, we will be concerned about this virus and in particular the sports environment. If the athletes want to continue playing… You know, the players make a lot of sacrifices and there is a sacrifice that has perhaps not been repeated enough to them, which is that of the festive evenings that they particularly appreciate. If they want to be able to continue playing without there being these contaminations over the games and the season, the best thing is that they are much more careful than those of their generation on this subject.

Is the outside world enemy number one? Creating a bubble like in the NBA, which is clearly utopian in Ligue 1, would therefore be the only solution to preserve the players?

We never have any guarantees because there will always be possibilities for the virus to be introduced from the outside, but as we have said, the virus will most certainly be introduced from this outside world. Here is the stake: to limit the contacts of the players with the outside throughout the season. It is very painful. The most acceptable compromise is a very strong recommendation to wear masks in all circumstances in closed places, to recommend that they minimize their presence in bars, in closed environments, to prefer outdoor terraces, truly ventilated, outdoor areas and wear the mask as much as possible. It's a way to have a life that is not too monastic, to reduce the risk and to make players aware that they have respiratory health as precious as that of their feet.

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