Bellary (Karnakata), March 18 While the facility at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) hasn't shut shop, 'strict precautionary measures' are being taken to keep the deadly coronavirus outbreak at bay with all athletes and staff living in a closed community, CEO Rushdee Warley has said.
"The facility hasn't been shut down; we are operational with training happening through the day. We are, however, taking strict precautionary measures since all the athletes and staff live in a closed community here in IIS and the neighbouring JSW Vidyanagar township," Rushdee said in a statement.
"The athletes and staff who were not in campus as of March 13 and were planning to return here have been advised to stay home. We had a team of doctors from the Jindal Sanjeevani Multi-speciality Hospital come to the institute for an informative session on the COVID-19, raising awareness and precautionary measures for those inside the institute," he added.
The CEO said those foreign coaches who were travelling and are attached to the campus have been asked not to return till further notice.
"A few coaches who were traveling for the past couple of weeks have been advised not to come to the campus until further notice. Two of our foreign staff were away and are currently self isolating in India away from IIS. They will return to IIS after 14 days and be tested again to ensure that they are negative for COVID-19."
There are no Olympic-bound athletes at the moment at the sprawling IIS campus which recently hosted 11 members of the Indian Tokyo-bound senior shooting squad who participated in a five-day training-cum-conditioning camp as part of the High Performance partnership between the JSW Group and the National Rifle Association of India.
Rushdee said since the facility hasn't been shut down, strict protocol is being maintained.
"Since the facility hasn't been shut down, all the maintenance staff is on duty and have been provided with masks as a precautionary measure. We are maintaining strict protocol with regards to their health and well-being, in line with other measures that have been put in place together with the team at the Jindal Vidyanagar township.
"There is regular cleaning taking place throughout the day in the institute, which was a common practice before this as well. We have increased the number of Sanitizers at different locations around the institute for the athletes and staff as a further precautionary measure."
( With inputs from IANS )