COVID-19 prevention tips
MDHHS Deputy Chief of Health and MDHHS Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, provides an update and tips for the prevention of COVID-19 in Michigan
Detroit Free Press
School-related outbreaks of COVID-19 are increasing in Michigan, and many are linked to youth and school sports, Michigan’s top epidemiologist said on Wednesday.
“The largest number of outbreaks occurs in K-12 schools in 162, with 54 new outbreaks reported this week,” said Sarah Lyon-Callo, director of the state’s Department of Epidemiology and Population Health.
This is because most pandemic metrics in the state – including case rates, test positivity rates and hospitalizations – are trending in the wrong direction. Some of these figures reflect the rates observed in late October, when trends soared, prompting the state to ban indoor contact sports in mid-November.
“We knew we would see cases associated with schools,” said Lyon-Callo during a news conference. “It is very important that the children are at school, can return a little more to normal and receive face-to-face education, if that is what the family has been doing to choose their child”.
However, she said that children aged 10 to 19 now have the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in Michigan, a rate that “is increasing more rapidly than in other age groups”.
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“We are certainly identifying outbreaks associated with the sport,” said Lyon-Callo. “We are certainly paying close attention to sports and we have a sports testing program …
“The classroom environment itself has not been a strong signal for outbreaks. It tends to be more of those activities associated with schools, including sports, but not limited to sports. “
Although state and local health officials have linked the new cases to sports, the Michigan High School Athletic Association has rejected the idea that there is a connection.
“The MHSAA has not yet received any data or evidence that COVID-19 was disseminated within the teams for sports activities or between teams that play sports with each other. We have seen statements that there are ‘basketball cases’, but there is clearly a difference basketball (or any sport) is considered a cause and students, who happen to play basketball or another sport, are infected with any variety of activities, “said Geoff Kimmerly, an MHSAA spokesman.
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Instead, Kimmerly pointed to “parties, or slumber parties, or other activities going on among students outside of training / competition that are causing the spreads” that could then prevent teams from playing.
Recently, health officials in Barry, Eaton and Ingham counties said that at least 47 new cases in that area are linked to sports teams in Grand Ledge and Okemos. Some of these students contracted highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, officials said.
Linda Vail, health officer for Ingham County, pointed directly to basketball as a problem.
“Basketball has been a concern. We saw other cases of basketball. We saw other basketball teams having to quarantine, “said Vail during a news conference on Tuesday.
“The main point is that basketball has been a challenge, … and many, many public health officials, despite the fact that there was a decision to allow the game to return to the game, we are quite uncomfortable with what we think that it could happen with basketball. “
Although Grand Ledge is in Eaton County and is within the limits of the Eaton-Barry District Health Department, students from Okemos, in Ingham County, were also affected by the outbreak, said Vail. But she declined to say how many Okemos students contracted the virus, noting that the number is small and may allow people to identify students with COVID-19.
“We have to be aware of protected health information as we go through these situations,” she said.
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At the end of February, Grosse Ile High School also had six cases linked to the varsity hockey team, according to a letter the superintendent sent to his parents.
Asked about comments by health officials in Ingham, Barry and Eaton counties, Kimmerly said again that the MHSAA has no evidence that sports are causing or aggravating the outbreaks.
“We received nothing in this office from any health officer stating that Student A transmitted the virus to Student B through sports contact,” said Kimmerly.
Michigan lawmakers strongly criticized state officials after the ban on indoor sports was implemented. Earlier this year, parents, coaches and other advocates asked the health department and the governor to lift the ban. They pointed out some initial data that seemed to show that almost all athletes tested as part of a limited pilot project in Michigan did not have COVID-19.
But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found cases transmitted through sports in high schools across the country. In December, a report showed that at least 79 infections and one death were related to wrestling tournaments at Florida high schools. It also estimated that 1,700 face-to-face class days were lost because of students who needed to isolate and quarantine themselves during the outbreak.
“Athletic activities in high-contact schools for which masking and physical distance are not possible should be postponed during periods with substantial or high levels of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission,” the report concluded.
Whitmer reversed the ban on indoor contact sports in early February, while instituting some restrictions. Kimmerly said that in the past week, more than 7,000 games of the regular season have been played and “almost all have been played without incident”.
“We know that schools are doing everything they can to limit opportunities for exposure – and athletes should follow all of these precautions,” said Kimmerly.
Contact Dave Boucher at [email protected] or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @ Dave_Boucher1.