Closed sports fields, orphaned soccer fields, clubs that fear for their existence: In lockdown, sport comes to a standstill - inside and outside.
Aerosol researchers say: The risk of becoming infected while exercising outdoors is almost zero.
"In the open air there are no reasons that would speak against allowing sport again," says Christof Asbach,
President of the Society for Aerosol Research (GAeF)
.
In an
open letter
to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the
researchers at the GAeF
called for a rethink: the danger lurking indoors - infections outdoors are extremely rare.
“That naturally includes sport,” says Asbach.
“If we don't talk about combat sports such as wrestling or judo, but about team sports or tennis, which were also not allowed and where you don't get close anyway.
We see an
extremely low risk of infection there.
"
Experts consider duels in football to be problem-free
His colleague Gerhard Scheuch, one of the leading aerosol experts, considers
duels and normal team training to be problem-free
in
football
. "Small groups and training strictly based on distance make no sense," he told the online portal "dfb.de". He also serves on the age restriction for outdoor sports superfluous: "The age does not matter, because there is virtually no infections in the open." The
new infection protection law of the Federal ( "emergency brake")
on the other hand, if the incidence is over 100, only children under the age of 14 should be allowed contactless sport in groups - adults should only be able to do individual sport alone, in pairs or with roommates.
So far, the Bavarian regulation stipulates that team sports outside are possible after April 26th at the earliest.
With incidences below 100 with negative tests, with incidences below 50 without tests.
Risk of infection only in closed rooms
Even
Christian Kahler, aerosol researchers at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
,
thinks: The risk of infection exists almost exclusively in closed rooms. “One of the reasons for this is that we have very different activities outside than inside,” he told our newspaper. It becomes dangerous if you sit next to each other for a long time - such as in the subway or classrooms. “
Nothing can happen with tennis, just as little as with cycling, jogging or walking
.” You have to be careful where “you talk to each other for a quarter of an hour”, says Kähler, “for example at the bus stop”.
The findings of the GAeF scientists have been known since the end of 2020 - nevertheless, politicians have not decided to generally open up sport in the open air. "We had the impression that we had
not been heard sufficiently,
" said GAeF President Asbach. Aerosol researcher Kähler says: "Politicians simply want to reduce contacts in principle." But the rules outside are too strict - and inside too lax, Kähler believes. As a result,
acceptance of the measures is
also waning
, he warns.