What is a bio-secure bubble? How does it work?

A bio-bubble is a protection shield for the players /sports personalities to provide them safe and secure area from coronavirus. Their environment is prohibited to everybody except some limited number of people. A bio-bubble environment may be confined to their hotel and stadium. No other person could meet them, including their family members until all protocols are followed.
So much care is taken that different and separate zones are made for all of them who are part of this environment. It means players, match officials, staff members, hotel staff, security personnel and medical team's all of them will remain in their respective zones and they will not enter into other's zone until they are tested twice and proved negative. If anybody has encroached safe zone of another person he will be isolated and will not come out until proven negative
They are also provided with a Blue tooth band if anybody comes close it starts beeping.

A bio-secure bulb provides protection to the players taking part in their playing of several matched by shielding them from the corona virus. While leaving their own place prior to arrival, they are to be tested for RT - PCR test and would be allowed to undertake their journey if they are found fit in such a test. Upon reaching the desired destination, they would again undergo for the Covid-19 test to ascertain their fitnesses for their onward play.
They will have to follow the COVID 19 protocol where they would not be allowed to meet any one except the authority or a medical team in case of any health issue.This would be applicable to both the hotel and the stadium.
The area is to be divided to several zones having their separate identities. All other members such as players, officials connected with the match, staff members, hotel staff and security member and medical team will remain the zones allocated to them and they are not supposed to enter the other zones unless there is need for it. However, entire members should be free from corona virus.
There is the provision of blue tooth bond band and it starts beeping upon any contact.

Bio-secure-bubble is to create an environment or situation where people's external connection is completely broken. There everything happens under the rules of standard operating protocol. In this, players have to follow the rules strictly. They are physically cut off from the outside world by the time of the tournament. They are not allowed outside that biological safe environment. It is like a fictional bubble in which players have to be very restrained till the end of the tournament, hence it is called bio bubble. Bio bubbles can be made in any part of the place. A place is chosen where there is no easy contact with anyone outside the bubble. The players staying in it are allowed to go to the outer fixed place. Separate bio-safe zones are created for players, staff, and medical personnel, and all have to remain within their designated areas.

Although its rules are very strict, the way the general public violates the rules many times, the same can happen in the case of bio bubble. Therefore, nothing can be said with certainty about its effectiveness. If someone wants to go out under special circumstances, then he is allowed to go on the basis of some rules. But it is very difficult to return to the bubble again. If the settlement is allowed, then quarantine can be returned to the bubble.

Taiwan's basketball match can be considered as the first instance of the bio bubble which was completed in 2019 and followed the rules very strictly. In 2020 too many sports such as hockey, cricket, football, etc. were organized by different countries keeping in mind the bio bubble.

There was an attempt to stay in the bio-bubble of IPL 2021 but the league could not protect itself from the virus and after several positive cases surfaced, the BCCI decided to postpone the IPL indefinitely. This time, one of the reasons for the bio bubble's failure is the dangerous form of Corona's 2nd, which probably has the ability to cross the Bio Bubble as well.

A bio bubble is an invisible shield. A safe and secure environment will be provided to only a selected people. These people will be allowed into that zone after testing COVID negative. Then they will not be allowed to go anywhere leaving that environment. They should not meet even their friends and family members when they are in that area. The hotels provided for the players to stay and the stadiums are also may be made bio bubble. This bio bubble concept was used for the India tour to Australia, IPL matches 2020, the US Open tennis matches etc. Different zones will be created for different people like players, field staff, hotel staff etc. They should remain in their zones only and should not trespass into the others zone.
The player needs to get tested for the RT-PCR test, He should be tested negative and the test should be done before he leaves the country. The player will be tested again for COVID-19 after reaching the destination. The player should confine himself in a room until the results are declared. He should be tested negative. Then only the player will be allowed to enter into that bubble zone. He should not leave that zone till further instructions and he should not invite anybody into his room. All these people will be under CCTV watch and also provided with a Bluetooth and if anybody comes near to him it will start giving beep sound.
The success of all this will depend on how serious the people are and how much attention they are giving to the protocols decided for a safe stay. Even though this Biobubble was provided to all IPL players it was reported that around 14 players got infected during IPL 20. So I feel this is not proved to be very successful for IPL matches. The duration of the tournament is long and so many players are meeting each other on the field.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the concept of bio-secure bubble came in practice especially in sports arena. It is basically a disciplined and strict shield provided to the participants of a function or sports tournament so that they are isolated from the virus infection. In this method only the persons who have tested negative for corona infection can access certain zones which are identified and are isolated for the safety of the people. It is easy to say that but it is a big task to create bio-secure environment in a specific place like a hotel or stadium annexe or any other place where the sportsmen reside and do their practice and other things. In fact it was planned for the IPL season 14 also but as that is postponed, it is not immediately required.

The basic idea behind this secure bubble is that the group or team which consists of a number of people including staff, players, coaches, managers etc should not mix with each other freely. Only some people would be allowed to move from one zone to other that also after ascertaining the negative test. So a person will have to remain in his shielded bubble till there is a necessity to move out of it. Even their families cannot enter that bubble and meet them. No casual or appointment visitor is allowed to meet them and in no case the bubble security is to be breached.

Let us consider it for a sports team. If a player is coming from his home then to enter the bio bubble he has to first clear the RT-PCR test. If a player leaves for his home then he will have to be tested at the destination port and will have to be confined in a room till his test results are ok.

Last year when West Indies was touring England then the first International cricket tournament was played in the bio-bubble. During the course of the series, no one tested positive for the virus. It was so strict that if by mistake some player breached the safety protocol then he had to take 5 days isolation and two tests before he would be allowed to go back to his bubble.