The show must go on but in a radically altered way

The coronavirus pandemic is now close to eight months and counting, and sport has not been spared, particularly in Asia, with many events getting canned.

Since May, global competitions have resumed, with the National Football League (NFL) the last to get under way last month as the previous campaign ended at the outset of the crisis.

Asian governments have taken a more hardline approach to dealing with the crisis - China in July called off all major sporting events for the rest of this year. The mega television deals associated with European and American-based sports, however, mean the show must go on elsewhere.

Through the cross adaption of measures and enacting of a controlled biosphere, they have had varying degrees of success in minimising the risk of contracting the virus, although all events continue to be held either behind closed doors or in front of a restricted crowds.

The biggest success story has to be the National Basketball Association (NBA). Last Sunday, the 2019-20 season wrapped up, with the league reporting zero Covid-19 cases after three months and 172 games in its Disney World "bubble" in Orlando, Florida.

Only one other league has managed such a blemish-free record, with the National Hockey League (NHL) concluding its play-offs in its two bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto, Canada without a positive case.

To ensure that NBA games would go off without a hitch, the league implemented the most airtight controls seen to date.

Players, staff and media had to spend more than 100 days away from their loved ones at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, with everything from food to entertainment contained within the campus. Covid-19 testing was carried out at regular intervals and around the clock. The campus itself was split into zones, with no one allowed to enter, leave or cross over without permission and infractions were not tolerated.

Players like Houston Rockets forward Danuel House were expelled from the bubble for breaking the rules. Even those leaving the campus with written permission were subjected to quarantine orders on return, like the Los Angeles Clippers pair of Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams.

Social distancing and the wearing of masks were made compulsory. Players also wore MagicBands and Kinexon SafeZone tags - smart wristbands that track health screening information, whereabouts and security clearance. They also alert players when they break safe distancing measures and monitor who they are in close contact with, facilitating contact tracing.

While the NBA is keen to avoid another repeat of the bubble next season - which is set to start in January - the league knows that its form of a bubble is a proven concept that works.

"Working together, teams and players, we found a way to play through a pandemic, keep everyone safe," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "For that, every team deserves to be celebrated."

Like the NBA, Major League Soccer resumed its season in the same bubble under the same restrictions, although it was a one-month experiment dubbed the "MLS is back Tournament". There were no Covid-19 cases while teams were inside the bubble, but the competition has since reverted back to the usual home-and-away format at their usual stadiums.

Since August, there have been at least 17 confirmed cases among players and a string of postponed games, reinforcing how effective a secure bubble can be.

Tennis' Grand Slam tournaments recommenced with the US Open in August held within a bubble in New York. Players were confined to one of two designated hotels or a selected house in the case of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and were not permitted to leave except to train or play matches.

Daily temperature checks, regular Covid-19 testing, social distancing measures, and restricted times spent in shared facilities like locker rooms, training facilities and on-site gyms meant Benoit Paire was the only player who tested positive.

The French Open, which ended last weekend, employed less stringent rules. While players were allowed to move only between a hotel and Roland Garros, the hotel was open to outside guests.

Despite some scares like Alexander Zverev reporting a high fever and some players like Fernando Verdasco and Damir Dzumhur being barred from participating after positive pre-tournament tests, no one was infected in the Paris bubble.

In Formula One, its bubble is only in operation on race weekends and has the same restrictive protocols as other sports designed to stem the spread of the virus. The measures have had mixed results: one driver, Sergio Perez of Racing Point, tested positive after making a personal trip to Mexico, while a number of team staff have also contracted Covid.

Golf's PGA Tour also employs similar measures for its events across the United States, leaning on chartered flights and predetermined host hotels in addition to regular testing and the requirement of a negative diagnosis in order to participate. There was a slew of positive cases when the circuit first resumed in June, but the numbers have tapered off although world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, earlier this week, became the highest-profile golfer to be infected.

Unlike the NBA and MLS, European football and the NFL have eschewed the bubble model due to constraints and also a preference to stick with its usual format.

The big five European football leagues, in general, have managed to prevent mass Covid-19 outbreaks among players and staff since March, with cases typically isolated.

The Bundesliga got the ball rolling with disinfected equipment, regular Covid-19 testing before and after games, safe distancing in place, compulsory wearing of masks, and promoting non-physical contact for celebrations.

Players are isolated in hotels just before games and those who test positive are subject to seven or 14 days of self-isolation depending on state regulations.

The Premier League has largely copied the German league's template, with the English top flight requiring players to self-isolate for seven days in the event of a positive test, while Italian Serie A players have to quarantine for 10 days.

However, the intersection between the pausing of domestic competition for international games, or when there is a break in competition, has exposed a loophole for the virus to slip through, especially when players travel abroad.

Earlier this week, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo became the biggest name in football to get Covid-19 after being infected on international duty with Portugal.

Last month, there was a cluster of cases at French champions Paris Saint-Germain after Neymar and several of his teammates came down with the virus after partying in Spain during the off-season.

Not all competitions have, however, done as well in keeping out the virus, with the NFL's lax measures being called out.

A full-fledged outbreak has hit the Tennessee Titans - 24 players and staff have been infected - and there has been a string of postponements owing to positive cases at other teams.

The league, only this week, began polymerase chain reaction - or PCR - testing on game days and the use of masks in walk-throughs.

NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills has been adamant the competition will not shift to a bubble owing to the "emotional" and "behavioural health toll" it takes, although NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this week hinted that officials may need to be "flexible and adaptable" if cases continue to rise.

It appears the NBA, NHL and MLS' bubble format best reduces the chances of getting Covid-19, but a hybrid model revolving around match days or for the duration of an event can equally work well provided measures are taken seriously and enforced.

After all, in the Covid era, the safety chain is only as strong as the weakest link.