Sean Fitz-Gerald in The Athletic1 reported Friday that the head of public health for the City of Toronto is recommending a four-week suspension of indoor team sports to combat sharply rising COVID-19 infection rates. The article says:
“Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Dr. Eileen de Villa said there had been evidence of the virus being transmitted inside a Toronto hockey rink or basketball gym, though she did not initially say which. Over the last month, she said indoor facilities have become more prone to ‘virus transmission.’”
This statement was later clarified in an email from Dr. Vinita Dubey, The City of Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health, who said that her department had investigated COVID-19 cases associated with local adult recreational hockey.
We note a common thread in Fitz-Gerald’s reporting on the situation in Toronto with some other COVID-19 cases related to amateur hockey; The problem in Toronto, just like in Traverse City, Michigan is not that the arena was ignoring public health protocols. But, as Dr. Dubey of Toronto Public Health said:
“Unfortunately, we learned that some participants were not wearing masks or physically distancing while socializing.”
The article goes on to report that the Greater Toronto Hockey League intends to begin Period 1 of its Game Plan – Return to Play Framework on October 7. This would be the first step in bringing thousands of youth hockey players back on the ice for what they hope is the beginning of their 2020-2021 season
Doctors de Villa and Dubey are calling on The Province of Ontario to put this initiative on hold.
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Footnotes
1Subscription to The Athletic required to read the full article.