As South American nations enter the de-escalating process from confinement, some have already allowed swimmers to return to practice. Nations such as Peru, Colombia, Uruguay or Paraguay will see swimmers back on deck, following in the footsteps of Ecuador, Argentina or Brazil.
PARAGUAY
Similar to Argentina, where only those who earned a qualifying time for Tokyo were allowed to resume their training, a reduced group of athletes will follow suit on Paraguayan soil.
Per EFE, that list of swimmers will be comprised of Charles and Benjamin Hockin, Renato Prono, Maria Jose Arrua, Matheo Mateos, Matias Lopez and Luana Alonso. Athletes will be allowed to train at the Paraguayan Olympic Park (Parque Olímpico Paraguayo) or the National Aquatic Center (Centro Acuático Nacional).
URUGUAY
In Uruguay, all 114 sports complexes nationwide will reopen June 17, solely for the purpose of open-air training. The decision was announced June 12 by the National Sports Secretary.
ECUADOR
Ecuadorian athletes returned to normalcy for nearly one month now, since May 18, according to El Universo. Ecuador’s Sports Secretary detailed that the plan has been broken into two sectors, low and moderate risk, depending on the sport. A total of 58 sports governing bodies have returned to normalcy, according to the report.
COLOMBIA
In a letter cosigned by Colombia’s Interior, Sports and Health Ministries, the government agencies address what the return to normalcy will look like for the different sports activities. The document indicates that although swimming has been allocated to the second group, they can resume before then, so long as they meet the precautions stated by the government.
PERU
Peru’s governing body for the sport, Federación Deportiva Peruana de Natación (FDPN), has issued two documents in this sense – biosecurity and control protocols, and FDPN’s specific protocol for the pool return.
Essentially, swimming wise, biosecurity measures will include, among others, providing sanitizing stations, ensuring social distancing is met or establishing a maximum capacity allowed on-deck.
Per worldometers.info, both Peru and Chile are among the 10 worst-hit nations worldwide, accounting for 6,700 and 8,758 confirmed cases respectively per one-million population.
