Re-opening rinks with social distancing

Sylvia

TBD
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Why did Massachusetts shut down ice rinks? Charlie Baker says blame the adults. https://www.boston.com/news/coronav...ice-rinks-charlie-baker-says-blame-the-adults
Excerpts:
But according to Gov. Charlie Baker, hockey itself isn’t necessarily the threat. Rather, the transmission of the v*rus is “likely coming from all the activity around hockey and some irresponsible behavior from parents and coaches,” Baker said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“Remember, many times these tournaments involve people showing up at a rink at seven or eight o’clock in the morning, playing a series of games over the course of the day, and basically spending more time at the rink with each other, engaged in conversation, sharing food, potentially sharing a drink, and maybe only playing two or three games and then leaving at six or seven o’clock at night,” the governor said.
“You can compound that by some of the ones that involve weekend trips to play in tournaments in nearby states, and you get the idea that it’s about a lot more than just the time on the ice,” he added.
According to Baker, state officials have identified more than 110 positive cases and 22 probable cases, as well as more than 220 close contacts, linked to 20 rinks across the state. In total, the cases impacted 66 cities and towns, he said.
Moreover, the clusters also likely led to “dozens” of additional infections, according to Baker, who said the cases were “probably undercounted” due to some adults’ lack of cooperation with the state’s contact tracing teams.
GRRRR.:angryfire
Officials plan to issue stronger C0VID-19 protocols for when rinks are allowed to reopen on Nov. 7. The existing rules limit the number of people inside an arena at a time and require spectators to wear face coverings and social distance, among other precautions. According to Sudders, the updated guidelines will have new, clear rules about the sharing of rosters and transportation. They will also make it clear that refusing to cooperate with with contact tracers may could lead to officials shutting down the rink or the team.
 
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overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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spinZZ

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that would be really surprising since they don't allow anyone on the ice who isn't having a lesson and don't offer any freestyle aside from private lessons- but maybe hockey strikes again (I mean if they are having hockey practices or games it makes no sense to have not allowed limited freestyles as well? Regardless NJ is solidly heading into a huge wave again so I don't expect rinks to stay open much longer.
<Emphasis added.>> Yep, local TV news have had recent headlines, "Second Wave Hits NJ". And we have several major cities re-imposing restrictions/rolling back re-openings (What happened to the lessons supposedly learned in the spring? Town-by-town restrictions gave way to a state-wide coordinated response: if you close down bars locally in a highly-infected area, party-hardy people just move along from there to bars that are still open in a town next door, taking the v_i_r_u_s with them. We're going backwards, for sure.). And all this 4 weeks before all the Thanksgiving gatherings. I'm not looking forward to what life will be like 4 weeks after.
 
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spinZZ

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I'm also glad to see the enforcement around contact tracers, because this happened not too far from me, in a different sport:
But that's always been a major flaw in contact tracing. Contact tracing assumes that people want to be contacted to be notified that they were potentially exposed to an infected person so that they then can go get tested and take extra precautions not to potentially infect others. But such is often not the case. No one will voluntarily admit, "Oh sure, I was one of the 200 people attending the illegal concert in the Main Street Cafe from midnight to 3 am on Oct 15. Thanks for letting me know that 20 people at that event so far have tested positive."
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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But that's always been a major flaw in contact tracing. Contact tracing assumes that people want to be contacted to be notified that they were potentially exposed to an infected person so that they then can go get tested and take extra precautions not to potentially infect others. But such is often not the case. No one will voluntarily admit, "Oh sure, I was one of the 200 people attending the illegal concert in the Main Street Cafe from midnight to 3 am on Oct 15. Thanks for letting me know that 20 people at that event so far have tested positive."

Yes, but that's not a reason to be abusive to the contact tracers themselves.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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I didn't say it was.
That was the point of the story I linked to. Not that the kids' soccer league had implemented a contact tracing problem, but that the league had to hire security to protect the contract tracers because the players' parents were being so abusive to the tracers.
 

spinZZ

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That was the point of the story I linked to. Not that the kids' soccer league had implemented a contact tracing problem, but that the league had to hire security to protect the contract tracers because the players' parents were being so abusive to the tracers.
All I was trying to point out is that contact tracing works only if people voluntarily cooperate (at least in the US; other countries as well). The link you cited is an egregious example of when they don't voluntarily cooperate (to the extreme of being abusive to contact tracers). Unfortunately, there are many other examples of when people don't voluntarily cooperate, though, fortunately, less extreme.
 
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Theoreticalgirl

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Looks like there is a YKW outbreak at Hatfield and Oaks rinks in the Philly 'burbs, per the Inquirer:

Montgomery County officials are investigating a coronavirus outbreak among ice hockey teams that led to 23 cases across eight teams, Val Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said at a news conference Wednesday.

This outbreak started with three adult ice hockey teams that play at Hatfield Ice Arena or at the Oaks Center Ice, then spread to three different adult teams and five junior teams coached by some of the infected adults. There may yet be more positive cases, Arkoosh said. Officials have found that a “common thread” among these nearly two dozen cases is “the lack of mask-wearing and social distancing, particularly on the bench.” More than 70 close contacts of those 23 cases are now in quarantine, Arkoosh said.

Montgomery County announced an additional 131 cases of the coronavirus and two more people who have died, bringing the county’s total to 14,346 cases and 842 deaths. “Please take this increase in case numbers seriously,” Arkoosh said. “We are already starting to see a rapid increase in hospitalizations.”

Via: https://preview.tinyurl.com/y52u3aqc
 

GarrAargHrumph

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It sounds like if everyone involved in hockey were to wear masks at all times when they aren't actively on the field of play, incidences of Covid in hockey might go way down. This would mean adding time to games/reworking how play happens to allow players to put masks on and take them off as they exit and enter the ice, even from the benches. That, or shut the teams down.

But I don't expect either of these things will happen.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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GlobalNews.ca article:
The City of Saskatoon says it is taking cleaning and disinfecting measures after a c0ronavirus outbreak was declared at ACT Arena.
City officials said they were notified of the outbreak on Wednesday by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
The outbreak is limited to the figure skating side of the arena, which the city said is leased by a third party.
It does not impact the public rink, which has a separate entrance.
The SHA is undertaking contact tracing and the city said it will support the health authority with the process.
“This situation stresses the importance of the layers of protection that are in place to prevent the transmission of C0VID-19 within facilities, which will include the mandatory requirement to wear masks effective November 6 as per the amended Saskatchewan public health order,” said a statement from the city.
 
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BittyBug

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It sounds like if everyone involved in hockey were to wear masks at all times when they aren't actively on the field of play, incidences of ********* in hockey might go way down.
USA Hockey has no one to blame but themselves as they don't even require masks to be worn during play, much less off ice.

Wearing a face covering/mask during on-ice practices or games is a personal choice. However, participants must wear a face covering/mask for on-ice practices and games where required by local or state government and/or an ice rink facility.

 

GarrAargHrumph

I can kill you with my brain
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US Figure Skating also doesn't require masks on ice; they say the same basic thing as USA Hockey does.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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New directive at my rink: anyone who goes to a school or participates in another sport where a case of the v*r*s is reported has to wear a mask the whole time they are in the rink - including on the ice - until 10 days after the case is reported.

I'd feel a whole lot more confident about this if the local school district's v*r*s reports weren't so slow and vague. The public reports, at least, are just that a case was reported at School X. Allegedly because of privacy law the report can't say which grade the student is in or which days they attended class. (I don't know if there are more detailed reports that go to the parents or the staff.)

I've just sort of resigned myself to the reality that at some point the rink is going to shut down again. I'll just try to get in as much ice time as I can, safely, before that happens.
 
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overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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Aaand the local health authority just announced a two-week shutdown that includes all indoor sports facilities.

SMH at the soccer parents on Twitter complaining about how their kids can't possibly train and play at this time of year if indoor soccer fields are closed :rolleyes:
 

Yazmeen

All we are saying, is give peace a chance
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Two week shutdown of rinks in Montgomery County, PA due to idiot adult hockey players who managed to create a mini-pandemic among the rinks by not following appropriate masking and safety protocols. And the wort part is that these asshats are likely going to break quarantine orders and try to skate somewhere else (they tried to do public skate after being told to stay out before the full shutdown).
 

Yazmeen

All we are saying, is give peace a chance
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Only two rinks were closed in Mont Co, PA.
PSC&HS remains open. Yesterday members got emails about wearing masks and told about surprise visits from the County Health Dept.
I would say Southeastern PA is going to keep a tighter eye on its ice rinks.
 

concorde

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I would say Southeastern PA is going to keep a tighter eye on its ice rinks.
Well they need to. Our County had a 50% increase in case counts from yesterday to today. My township had an outbreak within the school bus driver community so it can no longer provide transportation to/from the schools (not sure how long this will continue).
 

Sylvia

TBD
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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has issued an epidemic order, a “three week pause" amid skyrocketing c*ronavirus cases.
The at least three-week pause goes from November 18 (Wednesday) to December 8:
...
The following will shut down:
...
-Ice rinks
:(

ETA from WCVB NewsCenter 5 Boston:
 
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bladesofgorey

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I expect NJ rinks to close soon thanks to Hockey ruining it for everyone. In an announcement today about limitations on sports, the governor directly called them out: "
Murphy also said specifically that “hockey is in our crosshairs.”
“I’m not sure why, but we are hearing more than anecdotal, more than here or there, a lot of noncompliance, including by parents,” he said. “I’ve got nothing against hockey, but watch yourselves. We have that high on the list right now. And unless we see better compliance and lower levels of infection, we will take action.”
 

Debbie S

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My governor enacted more restrictions today. 50% capacity in all indoor businesses...salons, restaurants, retail, fitness centers, houses of worship, etc. Skating rinks were listed as a separate bullet point on the slide. I'm not sure if that's a good thing (we've arrived!) or a bad thing (how many cases?). Our club ice has always (since reopening in July) been at 50% but when state law limited to 50%, the rink only operated 1 rink (and allowed up to 25 skaters on their sessions b/c they considered full capacity on 1 rink to be "50%" as long as the other rink wasn't used). We'll see how they interpret the latest directive.
 

myhoneyhoney

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Today was the last day for my closest rink because our county slid back to purple. 😭

ETA: closing because of county mandate, not an outbreak.
 
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spinZZ

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I expect NJ rinks to close soon thanks to Hockey ruining it for everyone. In an announcement today about limitations on sports, the governor directly called them out: "
Murphy also said specifically that “hockey is in our crosshairs.”
“I’m not sure why, but we are hearing more than anecdotal, more than here or there, a lot of noncompliance, including by parents,” he said. “I’ve got nothing against hockey, but watch yourselves. We have that high on the list right now. And unless we see better compliance and lower levels of infection, we will take action.”
Questions for members: Does anyone know of instances (anywhere) in which outbreaks were traced to hockey, but only hockey was shutdown? I.e., the rink was allowed to stay open for figure skating and other non-hockey sessions? Or does the entire rink invariably have to shutdown?
 

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