State public health officials are investigating about a dozen positive COVID-19 cases in youths possibly tied to a recent hockey tournament.Av Harris, director of communications for the state Department of Public Health, said the outbreak might have happened after the War of the Well tournament that took place over two weekends in Cromwell, Hamden and Northford. Harris said teams came from all over New England and the tri-state area, but the event organizer only was aware of cases on one team from New York.
State health officials say it’s unclear whether tournament organizers or the rinks involved violated any reopening rules. Harris said one of the event organizers and the Northford rink told officials they took precautions, including enforcing mask wearing and limiting spectators to two per player. They said players were allowed into the arena just 20 minutes before their game and spectators only at game time to minimize interaction between groups.
Harris said it’s unlikely that any more cases will emerge because it’s been 14 days since the tournament.
Other hockey rink operators say it’s possible to avoid problems with proper planning. The key is discipline and design, says Greta Wagner, executive director of Chelsea Piers Connecticut in Stamford, which has two hockey rinks and is home to the Connecticut Junior Rangers team. Wagner said they have had zero positive cases over the past two months.
“At the moment we are forgoing having tournaments,” said Wagner. “By design, they draw from a larger area, and both Connecticut and our surrounding states have a travel ban in place and a quarantine period. We are strictly adhering to that quarantine period.”
Wagner said younger players aren’t allowed in the locker rooms, and the benches are marked for six feet of physical distancing. While they are allowing other teams in for scrimmages, they are taking contact tracing seriously.
“We know every single person who comes into this facility, we know how to get in touch with them if need be,” she said.
