With schools back in full swing across many parts of the country, another quintessential youth pastime has jump started as well – sports.
But with the uptick in cases coming out of schools in the short amount of time in-person learning has been back on, many are concerned about how safe it is for youth, particularly those who have yet to be vaccinated, to play different sports together.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy
A study of youth hockey, one of the highest risk sports for COVID-19 exposure, showed what risks are associated with large groups of young people interacting closely while still maintaining COVID-19 protocols.
"We basically put a message in a bottle for folks going through the pandemic this year to really encapsulate what we did last year," said Allison Krug, epidemiologist and founder and principal at Artemis Biomedical Communications LLC and one of the study’s authors on Tuesday's Ask an Expert.
Initially, researchers discovered a few transmission cases, and even an outbreak, amongst the players and their families in Virginia Beach, Virginia, before certain safety procedures were put in place.
"What we found is that by putting in simple protocols that really kept COVID-19 out of the rink, we were able to let the kids play as normal, unmasked, on the ice without any further transmission between the kids," said Krug to KCBS Radio's Holly Quan.
According to the study, players were required to arrive at the rink in full gear. Locker rooms were closed, building entry was limited to one parent per player, and masks were required at all times except for players on the ice.
Related
Following the implementation, more than 500 practices and games were completed, with at least 15,858 athlete-hours of exposure and no within-program COVID-19 transmission was detected despite high community incidence and sporadic household exposures.
The main issue Krug and her collaborators found was that it was difficult to enforce a mask mandate in the building as kids are coming on and off the ice throughout games and practice. But ultimately their findings were successful after the protocol implementation.
"COVID-19 was in the community and it was going to find its way into the rink if we didn’t take these simple measures to just keep it outside," she said. "They adapted."
For other sports, the study and others show that "ventilation is key and being outside," said Krug.
"It’s not perfect," Krug said. Researchers have to pay attention to other factors, such as mild, common cold-appearing symptoms presenting in children.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram