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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider COVID survivor Mitra reminds pro athletes: Do not put your guard down

COVID survivor Mitra reminds pro athletes: Do not put your guard down

Published Apr 8, 2021 03:17 pm

Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Baham Mitra made an appeal to professional athletes and their leagues to continue to set an example in practicing the minimum health protocols as the country continues to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Mitra’s call came after he himself recovered from the deadly virus. He tested positive for COVID-19 last March 11 and spent 14 days at a quarantine facility in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

“Like any other patient of COVID-19, my recovery map has never been easy,” said Mitra in an exchange of messages Thursday, April 8,  with Manila Bulletin. “The coronavirus does not distinguish its prey, even if you are very active in sports or not.”

“But preemptive measures against COVID-19 will save us from contacting the virus. To all our pro athletes, do not put your guard down. Please follow our public health standards at all times because it always pays to follow the rules.”

Mitra, a former Palawan governor and three-term congressman of Puerto Princesa, commended the pro leagues in adhering to the government protocols for pro sports crafted by the tripartite offices of GAB, the Philippines Sports Commission (PSC) and the Department of Health (DOH).

The guideline for the resumption of pro sports activities is called the Joint Administrative Order or JAO, and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved it which allowed the pro leagues and pro athletes to resume activities last year.

He said that pro leagues and pro boxers that conducted bubble tournaments even improved the guidelines.

“To be honest, many professional leagues went beyond the provisions created by JAO, and the minimum public health standards to ensure the safety of our athletes and their families,” said Mitra.

“For example, the JAO does not provide uniform guidelines on the conduct of sports inside an athletic bubble.”

“However, GAB-regulated leagues like the PBA, PFL, NBL, Chooks-to-Go, and the WNBL staged their seasons in a bubble setup to curb possible transmission of the COVID-19.

"As the agency tasked to regulate professional sports in the country, we gathered all the best practices of all the pro leagues under us to craft uniform guidelines that will govern the conduct of training and sports in an athletic bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Mitra said that proposals and suggestions to improve the JAO guidelines have been submitted to the DOH.

“Hopefully, when the situation permits, the Supplemental Guidelines on the conduct of training and sports will now include the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and soon be released,” he said.

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