COVID spike concerning for junior world hockey championship

Alberta’s spike in COVID-19 infections and the virus’s infiltration of Canada’s team is concerning for the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, according to a health and law expert and an epidemiologist.

The 10-country tournament, scheduled from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5 ,is modelled on the same “bubble” used by the NHL to complete the Western Conference playoffs and Stanley Cup final at Edmonton’s Rexall Place in August and September.

But active cases of infection in Alberta are over 10 times higher than when NHL playoffs began Aug. 1. Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor in the Faculty of

Law and Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said that makes the optics of hosting the world junior tournament difficult.

“A lot of people’s recreational pursuits have been taken away and people were very happy to have sports to watch on TV,” Hardcastle told The Canadian Press.

“We do need to give people some satisfaction and happiness where we’re able to, but I am concerned with this tournament. With Alberta’s numbers as high as they are, it’s difficult to endorse this.

“The number of cases that we now have is completely different than what we had then.”

Alberta had 1,386 active cases Aug. 1 compared to 14,052 on Thursday. Of the

510 deaths in the province attributed to COVID-19, 221 were in the Edmonton area.

The provincial government has banned all team sports until at least Dec. 15, but leagues can apply for exemptions if they have “welldeveloped COVID safety plans,” according to Premier Jason Kenney.

“I think it’s just all-around a bad idea to be bringing people into this region and this province when we are already facing a situation where our health-care system is overwhelmed and is going to have difficulty coping with those individuals that are here,” said Ilan Schwartz, an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alberta.

“The NHL showed that it can be done, but the stops that were pulled out in order to create and maintain a bubble for the NHL playoffs were enormous.

“It’s not safe for the players to be coming into a place where there’s a surge in infections.”