Namibian rugby player Helarius Kisting has been keeping fit and safe at his home in Mare, Romania.
The 26-year-old flyhalf turns out for Romanian professional rugby union club CSM Baia Mare and has been forced to train at home since March 15 when a national lockdown was enforced. Romania have recorded 9242 cases of the novel coronavirus, with 482 deaths.
“We have been in isolation for almost a month now and it is really getting mentally challenging, especially for those of us who love to be outdoors and do what we love to do. It’s really tough,” Kisting was quoted as saying by NBC Sport.
Baia Mare, however, has been unable to keep paying its players during the lockdown. Kisting though has received compensation from the Romanian government.
“We, the foreign players are lucky; now that everything is closed and all sports activities are cancelled, we have been integrated into the Romanian unemployment salary gap, so they still compensate us a certain amount of money for the time being.”
Namibia, in stark contrast to Romania, have had just 16 reported cases of COVID-19, with six recoveries and no deaths. Despite the encouraging numbers in the African country, Kisting urged the Namibian people to take every precaution in the fight against the spread of the virus.
“All I can say to people back home is just be a little bit serious. I know we are young and we just want to get out but protect other people as you are protecting yourself. I know it’s mentally challenging, but stay at home and stay safe. The virus doesn’t move; we are the ones moving the virus when we leave our homes, so if you stay home, the virus is not going to move at all.”
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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