1. FIFA Arab Cup tournament with full capacity of spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.
- Author
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Al-Thani H, Al Musleh AA, Khan NA, Asim M, Abdurahiman S, Morad YA, Massey A, and El-Menyar A
- Subjects
- Humans, Adolescent, Pandemics, Cross-Sectional Studies, Arabs, COVID-19 Testing, SARS-CoV-2 genetics, COVID-19 epidemiology, Soccer
- Abstract
Background: We sought to assess the risk of COVID-19 and seasonal flu including respiratory syncytial (RSV) and influenza viruses during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 in Qatar with full capacity of spectators. We also, evaluated the post-event attitude toward resumption of mass football events., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which spectators (age ≥ 18 years) were invited for reverse-transcription PCR testing for COVID-19 and seasonal flu. At the same time, between 7 and 14 days after the event, the participants completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their concerns during the tournament., Results: The tournament included 16 international football teams from the Arab countries. As per the study protocol, 10,000 spectators were approached and 6,475 participated. Among the participants, 4,195 (65.1%), 2,253 (34.9%) and 27 (0.4%) were vaccinated with 2 doses, vaccinated with 3 doses, and recovered from SARS-Cov-2 infection, respectively. There were 61 (0.9%), 41(0.6%) and 11(0.2%) participants who tested positive for COVID-19, RSV and influenza (A/B), respectively. The average cycle threshold (Ct) value for COVID-19 positive cases was 26.1±7.3. Among those who were electronically approached, 6,102 completed the survey whereas 373 had incomplete survey. Overall, 2069 (33.9%) participants reported symptoms that theoretically could be related to COVID-19, of them 39 had positive PCR test (1.9%). Spectators (94.3%) were optimistic about returning sport events to the pre-pandemic status., Conclusions: There was no significant increase in the daily COVID-19 cases during FIFA Arab Cup 2021 with a full capacity of spectators. Therefore, upcoming mass football events can be held safely. more...
- Published
- 2023
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