COVID-19: New sport guidelines allow individual activities under strict mitigation measures

All sport activities that are not organised events can be held as long as strict mitigation measures are adhered to, according to new public health guidelines.

The guidelines clear the confusion that erupted after “organised sport activities” were banned last week as part of new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

MaltaToday had reported on the matter last Monday, when people were photographed playing padel, a racquet sport, over the weekend.

The new guidelines will allow tennis, jogging, fitness, dance, horse riding and padel, among others to continue being practiced individually subject to mitigation measures.

According to the guidelines, the Public Health Superintendent gives permission for sport and physical activities that are not organised events to be held as long as the outdoor group limit of not more than four people is respected.

The guidelines also prohibit any form of physical contact, make it incumbent on participants to wear masks except for high intensity physical activity, and bar any form of competition. Any activity must not be done in such a way to attract spectators and adequate physical distance has to be observed.

Permitted sporting and physical activities include:

• Walking and Power walking
• Jogging, running and athletic activity
• Fitness and Dance sessions with adequate social distancing of 2m between all persons
• Cycling
• Climbing
• Horse Riding
• Golf
• Tennis/Padel
• Shooting
• Swimming 
• Sailing on individual dinghies or on larger boats where adequate social distancing between all persons can be respected
• Archery 
• Fishing
• Gymnastics
• Motor Sport 
• Model aircrafts
• Scuba diving
• Skateboarding
• Surfing
• Weightlifting

All recreational physical and sporting activities must comply with any other legislation at all times.