Introduction:

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has compelled the implementation of various measures to mitigate the impact of an inevitable increase in COVID-19 cases, such as the closure of schools. Upon their reopening, given that physical activity in childhood and adolescence is crucial for optimal development, we considered whether extracurricular athletic activities are safe in the COVID age.

Material and methods:

We conducted a longitudinal, observational and descriptive study. We followed up 717 students and instructors from a municipal sports organization that participated in sports activities offered between September and December 2020. When a positive case was identified, the staff contacted the family, filling in the data collection form and monitoring the students.

Results:

There was only 1 detected case SARS-CoV-2 infection among the 679 students and 38 adult instructors included in the study. It occurred in an adolescent aged 13 years that played basketball and acquired the infection from a family member and developed mild symptoms; both the boy and the peers in his consistent contact group were quarantined for 10 days without identification of additional cases.

Discussion:

Our results suggests that if athletic activities are carried out in controlled groups in optimised environments and adhering to health standards, sports facilities can be safe spaces for the paediatric population with a low SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate. We did not identify any outbreaks in the sample, having implemented the appropriate preventive measures and verified strict adherence by the students. Nevertheless, it is important to keep accurate records of current students for contact tracing and to guide the implementation of preventive measures, both general and specific to particular sports activities, with the aim of minimising risk.

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