The incidence and transmission of sars-cov-2 infection in South African professional rugby players - aware ii

Abstract

To describe the incidence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections in South African professional rugby union players in different phases of return-to-competition during a pandemic. Players reported their history of SARS-CoV-2 infection before/during a national competition, using an online questionnaire (physician verified). Three periods of return to training/competition after a nation-wide complete lockdown during a pandemic were studied: 1) non-contact training, 2) contact training, 3) competition. The total period was 184 days (20/07/2020–20/01/2021) including 45 matches. Outcomes were: 1) incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (I: per 1000 player days; 95%CI) in each period (calculated using a Poisson distribution), 2) player symptoms, 3) median days to return-to-training following SARS-CoV-2 infection, 4) method of transmission, and 5) percentage matches cancelled due to SARS-CoV-2 infections.