new delhi the sports authority of india sai on monday said it has decided to close its 67 training centres across the country due to rising covid19 cases but national camps for elite athletes will continue in biobubblesthe decision will not impact the national centres of excellence ncoe like the ones in patiala and bengaluru where camps for elite athletes are in progress across multiple disciplinesin view of rising cases of covid19 the sports authority of india has decided to close the 67 sai training centres across the country the sai said in a statementthe decision also comes in the wake of directives issued by various states to suspend sporting activities for the safety of athletes it addedthe centres would be reopened after a review of the situation in due course of timethere is no change in training schedule of elite athletes training for asian and commonwealth games later this year they are training in biobubbles at the ncoes and following all precautions a sai spokesperson told ptiindia reported a rise of 179723 covid19 cases on mondaythe number of active cases has increased to 723619 the highest in around 204 days while the death toll has climbed to 483936 with 146 fatalities reported this morning by the health ministrywith several covid19 cases reported in the countrys top training facilities the sai had last week ordered implementation of stricter protocols including weekly testing of all athletes and support staff at its campuses across the nationthe stricter sop was announced after as many as 24 sportspersons and 12 support staff members tested positive for the virus at the sais bhopal centrealso last week as many as 35 junior athletes at the sports authority of indias bengaluru facility who were participating in various national events had tested positive for the highly contagious virusthat was after the nodal sports body had conducted random tests on 210 people comprising 175 athletes and 35 coacheson march 31 last year 30 sportspersons and support staff across disciplines were found to be covid19 positive after 741 precautionary tests were conducted at the national centres of excellence in patiala and bengalurusai had also formed a panel to closely monitor the implementation of sops quarantine norms isolation facilities and suggest measures to contain the spread of covid19