Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Section VI officials have announced they will start the wrestling season on May 10th. This after health officials asked for a delay or cancellation of the season because of the risk of COVID19.
Section VI has also decided there will be no spectators permitted, although state health officials allowed two per athlete.
"Revisions to the guidance relaxed certain restrictions on higher-risk sports, including wrestling. Wrestling involves participants sparring in very close physical proximity for extended periods of time, which significantly increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Similarly, masks, which are a method of COVID-19 risk reduction, are not recommended to be worn during wrestling because of a choking hazard," said health directors and commissioners of Erie, Niagara, Allegany, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties in a statement.
They cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report1 (MMWR) published January 26, 2021 which summarized a large COVID outbreak associated with a wrestling tournament in December 2020. "Through a case investigation that spanned three counties and included diagnostic testing of contacts, the report noted hundreds of contacts, significant losses of in-person learning days, suspension of all winter indoor and outdoor high school athletics in one county, and one death resulting from multiple exposures during this wrestling tournament," says the report.
The health directors asked for the season to either be postponed or canceled.
