China's doping control officers have been asked to go through medical checks for the novel coronavirus before being allowed to carry out drug tests on athletes.
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The doping control officers (DCOs) must pass virus tests and relative medical checks before they are allowed to carry out doping tests amid a nationwide fight against the new coronavirus, China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) said here on Wednesday.
CHINADA CEO Chen Zhiyu told Xinhua that they put the safety of athletes in the first place so that CHINADA has worked out strict measures for doping tests under current circumstances.
"All the DCOs will be under medical monitoring for 14 consecutive days and go through new coronavirus tests as well as other relative medical checks to ensure they are not infected," said Chen.
Chen said CHINADA plans to send its requirements for DCOs to the International Federations, WADA and testing companies, adding that CHINADA will resume anti-doping tests in the country this week after a three-week suspension due to the outbreak of the epidemic and quarantine measures by respective provincial governments.
In January this year, CHINADA conducted over 1,200 doping tests. ■
