Giro d’Italia and Covid, the obligation to wear masks is back – Corriere.it

Uran’s and especially Evenepoel’s positivity to Covid worries fans and insiders of the Giro d’Italia, who are once again forced to deal with the nightmare of the virus. The two join a long list of riders who tested positive before and during the pink race, including the Italians Conci, Aleotti and Ganna. The organization has thus decided to reintroduce the obligation of masks in areas where runners come into contact with other people. The director of the race announced it, Mauro Vegni in Scandiano (Reggio Emilia), on the occasion of the first day of rest, after the Covid positivity case of the pink jersey, Remco Evenepoel, who retired. There are no Covid protocols on the part of the organization, nor of the International Cycling Union, the decision to stop positive cyclists entirely in the hands of teams that have no obligations. The Giro’s decision was taken as a form of protection for the participants.

The procedures and tests

Just at the beginning of May, the WHO declared the coronavirus pandemic over, downgrading it to an epidemic: as a result, the UCI had canceled any testing obligation and the masks disappeared from the races. Despite this, the teams continued to carry out antigen tests for their own safety and for the health of employees and riders. Tests that the teams manage independently, there is no obligation to communicate the results to the UCI and the organizers. The antigen tests are done by the teams and they have the result in a few minutes: that’s what happened with Evenepoel, who just Sunday – for the first time – showed up at the press conference without a mask.