Nearly All CT Sports Ordered Shut Down Amid Coronavirus Outbreaks

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday ordered nearly all sport activities stopped effective Monday. The order comes after contact tracers found 17 high schools were closed due to coronavirus outbreaks. The order won't apply to college or professional sports.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference previously announced all high school winter sports will be postponed until Jan. 19. Lamont’s order applies to all club and team sports and will also last until Jan. 19.

There were 29 coronavirus outbreaks linked to school sport activities and 235 teachers had to quarantine due to close contact with a sports team member, officials said. The sports ban is being done to keep schools open for as long as possible.

“There is no substitute for in-person learning, as long as you can do it safely,” Lamont said during a news conference.

Bristol Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said more than 340 students in the local school system missed time due to possible coronavirus exposure related to club and youth sport activities. Private gatherings, weddings, bridal parties and restaurants were some other spreader events revealed by contact tracing, she said.

Lamont’s announcement came on a day when the state reported another 21 coronavirus-related deaths, which was the most reported in a single day since June.

“I hate to dwell on this, but a lot of people think boy this time around it’s safer, we got the therapies, it's a younger demographic,” Lamont said. “No, 21 fatalities in the last day alone, pay attention to that.”

Connecticut reported another 2,353 coronavirus cases Thursday. There was also a net increase of 24 hospitalizations, which brought the total to 840. The daily positive test rate was 6.48 percent, which is a figure that continues to creep up.

Lamont's administration steps up Thanksgiving message

Lamont and members of his administration encouraged Connecticut residents to skip the traditional large Thanksgiving gatherings and instead celebrate in person only with members of the immediate household.

“We just need people to take this Thanksgiving off and follow the rules,” state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said. “This is such an important time for our state to bend this curve and get these numbers back under control otherwise we are going to be faced with increasingly difficult choices about how we manage this pandemic going forward.”

Local law enforcement can issue fines for violating coronavirus gathering rules, Geballe said. Lamont’s recent executive order prohibits private social gatherings of more than 10 people.

Lamont encouraged anyone who attends a large Thanksgiving gathering to get tested for the coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released guidance that discourages people from celebrating in person with people outside their immediate household.

No defined hospital metric for additional restrictions

Lamont and other nearby governors announced future coronavirus restrictions will be tied to hospitalizations metrics; for Connecticut, it’s not so much about available beds or personal protective equipment, but health care worker fatigue.

“It’s not an absolute number, but it’s really the rate of change and I’ve got to confess, the rate of change is going up quite a bit," Lamont said.

Lamont’s administration is working under the assumption coronavirus hospitalizations will peak sometime in January.

See also: Infant Child Of CT TV News Anchor Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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