Hungarian Swimming Reports 9 Positive Tests for COVID-19 at Training Camps

News that additional Hungarian swimmers have tested positive for COVID-19 is rolling in after world champion Boglarka Kapas announced her positive test. The Hungarian Swimming Federation released a statement saying that nine people, including National Team swimmers and staff members, had tested positive as of Tuesday night.

All individuals were tested as part of Hungarian Swimming’s training camps – swimmers and staff members have to test negative twice before entering any of the five national facilities that have reportedly been made available. As part of that protocol, Dominik Kozma, David Horvath and Richard Bohus have also confirmed on Instagram they tested positive; Horvath and Bohus have both said they do not yet have symptoms.

Many of the swimmers were at a training camp in Thailand before returning to Hungary. Kozma, Horvath, Bohus, and Kapas were all members of Hungary’s team at the 2019 World Championships. Kozma (7th in the 200 free) made a final while Bohus (10th in the 50 back, 15th in the 100 back) made the semi-finals. Kapas was the 2019 World Champion in the 200 fly.

Hungarian star Katinka Hosszu, who was not in Thailand but is now in Budapest, has not yet been accounted for by name. World champion and World Record breaker Kristóf Milák‘s coach told Hungarian outlet Index that he tested negative twice.

Full statement from Hungarian Swimming (translated from Hungarian):

“As it is known, the Hungarian Swimming Federation has been trying to find a solution for the national athlete’s special needs so that the national athletes can continue to train in the pool.

The MSA agreed with the swimming pool operators – primarily the leaders of the National Sports Centers – and the state’s sports management that only those who went through two coronavirus tests and who tested negative for the three-day difference can train in foreign training camps, and spent 14 days in quarantine after returning home. For trainers previously in Hungary, this was a negative test. (The MSA used a private provider for sampling, while the tests were processed in state-accredited laboratories – the full cost of the procedure was covered by the association’s own resources.)

All members of the national team as well as professionals (coaches, trainers) participated in the testing. The alliance continues to deliver results that have shown positive results for nine people as of Tuesday night.

All of them went to training camps abroad, after which they went to quarantine for 14 days, that is, since their return they have not been training.

The Hungarian Swim Federation cooperates fully with health organizations and allows only those swimmers to begin pool training who can be excluded from infection – that is to say, in addition to one or two negative tests, they have never been in contact with their infected counterparts before the start of quarantine, even after it has expired.

During closed training camps, swimmers will work under constant medical supervision and regularly undergo medical examinations.

According to the information received from the infected, none of them currently require special medical attention, but they have already been contacted by the state epidemic authorities. Should any of them require treatment, they will also be subject to the rules of the current national health protocol.”

As of Tuesday, Hungary has 492 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 confirmed deaths.