Variants of concern mean that contacts must be kept low, and that will have an impact on the way in which sporting activities proceed in the months ahead. That’s according to Dr. Janice Fitzgerald who provided the latest COVID briefing today.
There are no new confirmed cases of COVID -19 reported in the province today and eight new recoveries—leaving 26 active cases, all in the Eastern Health region.
Just one patient remains in hospital as a result of the virus.
Fitzgerald says she understands the frustration and disappointment in the sports community in getting things back up and running. However, with the possibility that any new case entering the province could be a variant of concern, that means any return to sporting activities will be slow.
Dr. Fitzgerald addresses the resumption of sport- she says they are engaging with sports organizations across the province and are asking that they submit return to play plans. @VOCMNEWS
— Richard Duggan (@RDugganVOCM) March 19, 2021
The last outbreak saw the virus spread quickly through families, social networks, and workplaces. Case counts were doubling in slightly less than every two days.
“We were fortunate to have detected the virus when we did,” says Fitzgerald, “We were mere days away from this virus spreading across the province and becoming more difficult to contain.”
There are no guarantees when it comes to this virus, says Fitzgerald.
The most critical thing is to keep contacts low. Fitzgerald says, “I cannot stress enough the importance of this.”
She says they cannot ignore the reality that group activities, including team sports, result in multiple contacts for each individual.