The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has struck the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala with the elite centre on Thursday reporting four positive cases inside its campus.
The positive cases were confirmed following 170 RT-PCR tests conducted among athletes and coaches residing inside the campus. The cases include three junior athletes and one coach. "RT-PCR tests for 170 athletes and coaches were conducted in NSNIS Patiala on Tuesday as part of SAI COVID SOP. Results have revealed that three junior athletes and one coach are COVID positive," the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a statement. "All four are symptomatic and have been isolated as per SOP." "There are no positive cases among national campers and their training is continuing unhindered inside a bio-bubble." A SAI official also said that the elite athletes are in a completely different bio-bubble and have no link with the junior athletes or the outside world.The official revealed that besides athletes, NIS Patiala also reported some positive cases among a few students of its academic courses, but they leave outside the campus and has no connection with its campers.