You can read full coverage of the coronavirus impact on Italy on SwimSwam Italia.
We reported yesterday how Italians deemed ‘athlete of national interest’ were able to return to train despite the entire nation is under quarantine. The ambiguity of the words of national interest sparked some debate on social media, identifying a pecking order of sorts in terms of who is and who is not allowed to train.
To help clarify, the Italian Swimming Federation (Federnuoto) included the following categorization within its latest post:
Following the publication of the new decree of the President of the Council of Ministers on 9 March, which, together with further restrictive provisions for the benefit of public health, provides for (Art 1, point 3, letter d – Urgent measures to contain the contagion on the whole national territory) such as “sports facilities can be used, behind closed doors, only for training sessions of athletes, professionals and non-professionals, recognized as being of national interest by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and by their respective federations, in view of their participation in the Olympic Games or national and international events (…) “,the Italian Swimming Federation – observing obsequiously and scrupulously to the provisions – communicates that they are to be considered “athletes of national interest”:
– registered athletes who have participated in 2019 or have already obtained qualification for a National Championship in a federal discipline in any age category, excluding the Debutants and Masters categories.
As of Monday, March 9th, Italy has become the first nation to place its entire territory under quarantine in an effort to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that the ‘red zone’ quarantine previously only applicable to the north of Italy will now be imposed on the entire nation, meaning travel to, from and within Italy is only possible if ‘demonstrably necessary for work or health reasons.’