Indoor sports games can become superspreader events for the novel coronavirus, according to a new weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Researchers pointed to a Florida hockey game, where a player infected as many as 14 people in the spring.
What happened:
The game occurred at an indoor ice rink in Tampa. A player experienced COVID-19 symptoms the day after. He tested positive two days later, CNN reported.
- Each team had 11 players who were between 19 and 53 years old.
- Each team had separate locker rooms.
- No one worth face masks.
- “During the five days after the game, 15 persons experienced signs and symptoms compatible with coronavirus disease 2019; 13 of the 15 ill persons had positive laboratory test results indicating infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” according to the CDC.
Interesting note: Sixty-two percent of players experienced COVID-19 symptoms. No referees did. Nor did any spectators.
Why it matters:
- The CDC said a “high proportion of infections that occurred in this outbreak provides evidence for SARS-CoV-2 transmission during an indoor sporting activity where intense physical activity is occurring.”
- Isolation and quarantine are required after an event like this, the CDC said.