A “puzzling” outbreak of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adult recreational hockey players in the York region has led to calls for a full investigation.
The virus spread rapidly among adult league players earlier this month, with 15 confirmed cases and one 75-year-old death – and has raised a web of concerns about indoor sports safety, vaccination verification, and dangers that could lurk in the air, especially on older hockey rinks and facilities.
“It’s certainly surprising, it’s not at all what you would expect,” said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. “It’s puzzling and really worth looking into: genotypes, ring tests, vaccination verification, full contact tracing … We want to find the smoking gun.”
Furness said the outbreak is “disturbing” for several reasons.
“Is this an early warning for a new variant? That’s unlikely … but you want to know. Is this a change in the epidemiology of COVID? Do we have a big blind spot? What’s the matter?”
Advances are possible among vaccinated people, but at a much lower rate of less than one percent, said Dr. Richard Gould, the region’s acting medical health officer.
The unusually high number of breakthroughs among these fully vaccinated players raises a question: Did they really get all of their shots?
All spectators or players using the national training track in Newmarket where the outbreak occurred must show proof of vaccination before entering the building.
Gould admits that counterfeit passports may exist, but it doesn’t appear to be a problem in this situation.
Whenever there are major cases, Gould said, public health double-checks COVAX, the provincial system for vaccination records, and in this case, none of the infected players had claimed exemptions and all vaccination dates were confirmed.
Furness also questioned whether adequate testing was done.
The York Region Department of Public Health said all high-risk contacts, those who played at the same time as a confirmed case, were contacted and advised to get tested.
Those who played in the session before and after would not have been called up, as they were not considered high risk. Other potential contacts are advised to self-monitor and test for symptoms, he said.
League members interviewed by YorkRegion.com He said several of his teammates who were on the ice when the infected men played weren’t contacted by public health or were not screened, but even that might not have been enough, Furness said.
“If you really want to know what happened, there is no question, you have to put everyone in the league to the test. Newfoundland is really good at doing this. They do aggressive testing around a case, not just your family members, not just everyone in your class, but the neighbors, the people they were with, because it’s very possible that the entire league was infected. And they are vaccinated, so they don’t spread much, but with four or five of them together, transmission happens.
“The big mistake here, the big misstep, is not putting the entire league to the test and they should still move on. They shouldn’t waste time, ”said Furness. “It may be that he passed the entire league and was asymptomatic for many people because they are vaccinated.
“There could be some other typhoid Maria that would make everyone sick.”
There is even a remote possibility that it is a canary in a coal mine, a new variant that is resistant to vaccines, he said.
He admits that it is a scary and unlikely prospect, but it would be good to dismiss it.
The province analyzes the isolates at random to look for new variants, Gould said. In Ontario, Delta remains the most common, with approximately 98 percent of cases in the York region confirmed or presumed Delta.
York has asked the Ontario Public Health Laboratory to verify the complete genome sequencing of the individuals involved in the hockey outbreak to learn more about the genetic makeup of the virus involved.
“It’s worth looking at every time we have an unusual situation where we have a group like this,” Gould said.
Also puzzling: One infected gamer, Brian Dunn, said his microbiology report indicated he had contracted the original COVID-19, while others had Delta.
If that’s really the case, said Furness, then there are two outbreaks happening at the same time, like lightning striking twice, and there is something really dangerous about this situation.
“This hits the spot because there are four of us in the family and three of us play hockey. Nobody in my family wears changing rooms. I mean, just no. I don’t care what people’s vaccination status is, there’s no way they’ll go into a small, crowded space. “
But it puzzles him that all the men played on different nights and wore different costumes.
“Were they on the ice at the same time, checking each other’s bodies and exhaling on each other? You could see the broadcast happening in head-to-head or at the time of the body check or scrum around the goal. “
Because COVID is transmitted through the air, air filtration is important, he said.
Gould said the sands ventilation is inspected, not to ensure adequate airflow for COVID-19 prevention, but for things like Zamboni exhaust, ammonia and other substances from ice-making equipment. .
“We would not expect ventilation problems for the risk of COVID-19 because they are such large and more diluted spaces. Perhaps, right at the level of the track, the ventilation is not as good as it could be higher up. We don’t have good data. “
Changing rooms are a different matter, he added.
“They are a smaller room, obviously, so the volume of air ventilation could be an issue. But that’s where they should keep the two-meter distance and wear a mask. “
The air in the sands is unusual in that it is artificially cold and you are sitting on a cold surface, Furness said.
“What does that do to the COVID drops? It can make it more dangerous than we think … Maybe COVID lurks at the height of your breath. “
TO Yale School of Public Health study indicated an increased risk of COVID-19 on indoor courts due to Plexiglass walls insulating the air, close contact between players and high aerobic activity. Temperature and humidity conditions can increase virus survival and exposure to other contaminants in ice can increase susceptibility.
Masking on ice would reduce risk, according to the Yale study, and reduce risk related to other common sand behaviors, such as spitting.
But another study after an outbreak in Virginia admitted that masking may not be practical, particularly for children, Gould said; that’s consistent with the WHO and CDC advice not to require masks during physical activity.
That leads to what Furness said is the $ 64,000 question: is indoor hockey safe?
“My confidence is somewhat shaken and will continue to shake until we have a satisfactory explanation” for the Newmarket outbreak, he said. “Clearly, something is acting in a way that we don’t expect.
“My family will continue to play hockey. They will still not wear the locker room and we will limit close contact with each other as much as we can. And that means having a mask on until you’re on the ice. “
Jon Cowens has a different opinion.
The 58-year-old had signed up for men’s hockey, but now has doubts.
“From the teammates who play, I heard that there are no masks or social distancing in the dressing rooms. A full team of 14-15 players sits shoulder to shoulder. I was hoping for some application or at least camaraderie with wearing masks, but leadership is absent.
“Yes, everyone eligible for the vaccine must provide proof of vaccination to enter the building, but that is the scope of the application.”
With a mix of adults and young children, some unmasked and unvaccinated, parents congregate in the hallways “everything operates in a pre-pandemic environment,” it just doesn’t feel safe, he said.
“I was planning to play, but I have been struggling to overcome my instincts for safety … I’m out.”
Reference-www.thestar.com