COVID-19 outbreak among physicians at a Canadian curling bonspiel: a descriptive observational study

Abstract

C anada confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), on Jan. 25, 2020. 1 As of Dec. 7, 2020, there were more than 420 000 confirmed cases and nearly 13 000 deaths in Canada. 1 The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic on Mar. 11, 2020, 2 which was also the date that physicians from around Canada gathered for a curling bonspiel in Edmonton (63rd Annual Western Canadian Medical Bonspiel, Mar. 11-14, 2020). Curling is a winter sport that originated in Scotland, but today 90% of all curlers worldwide come from Canada. 3 At the onset of the event, there were only 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta (Figure 1). These cases were directly associated with international travel, and no known community spread had been documented. In early March 2020, local public health guidelines in Alberta included limiting indoor gatherings to groups of less than 250 people, 4 and there were no recommendations for using face masks in public places. During the bonspiel, enhanced safety measures included use of hand sanitizers, discouraging pre-and postgame handshakes, and sanitizing curling stones with disinfectant wipes between games. Despite these measures, an outbreak of COVID-19 occurred after the event. The pandemic has greatly affected organized sport around the world, 5 and the experience at this bonspiel aided Curling Canada in its development of a return-to-play guideline. 6

SARS-CoV-2 transmission during an indoor professional sporting event

“…and played a major role in participants contracting SARS-CoV-2 within the basketball stadium during the match. These findings correspond with other reports which have observed the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during rigorous physical activity [15][16][17] in particular indoor activities 18,19 . Interestingly, a recent study carried out in the sport of rugby-which is not played indoors-has shown that there appears to be no risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission 20 .…”

Covid-19 Hastalarında Başvuru Şikayetleri

“…In one study, 75% of the participants reported anosmia associated with loss or change in taste. In one confirmed case, anosmia was the only symptom (17). A cross-sectional survey study found that these symptoms are frequently reported in COVID-19 patients, and in most cases precede the onset of other symptoms (18).…”

Assessment of COVID-19 barrier effectiveness using process safety techniques

“…The first case of COVID-19 in Canada was confirmed on January 25, 2020 ( Burak et al, 2021 ). On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic; at this time, there were over 118,000 cases in over 110 countries and territories, and sustained risk of continued global spread ( Ducharme, 2020 ).…”

“…The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ( Burak et al, 2021 ). SARS-CoV-2 was identified in December 2019.…”