Health officials urge Ontario residents to stay home for Super Bowl Sunday
Posted February 5, 2021 5:48 am.
Last Updated February 5, 2021 11:46 am.
As provincial COVID-19 numbers have started to move in the right direction in recent weeks, health officials are growing concerned that Super Bowl Sunday could be a major setback.
Officials are urging residents to remain diligent and not let the big game on Sunday become a “superspreader” event.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford released a video on Twitter, pleading with Ontarians to watch the game at home.
“Do me a favour, just stay at home,” says Ford in the video.
I know many of you are excited for the #SuperBowl this weekend between the @Chiefs & @Buccaneers, but do me a favour & STAY AT HOME!
Enjoy the game virtually with anyone you don’t live with & support your favourite local restaurants by buying some takeout.
(PS I’m a Brady fan) pic.twitter.com/olHz4K1bhP
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 4, 2021
Dr. David Williams was asked about the football game leading to a spike in COVID-19 cases. He is encouraging residents to engage virtually through zoom parties or other ways. He said an added benefit of gathering virtually eliminates any drinking and driving issues.
“There’s a number of added benefits to doing it virtually,” says Williams. “You can have 40 to 60 people with a zoom party.”
He says people need to continue to abide by the provincial restrictions that are in place surrounding gatherings.
Ontario’s stay-at-home order require everyone to remain at home with exceptions for permitted purposes or activities, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise, or for work where the work cannot be done remotely.
Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions.
Fines for individual organizers of events that violate gathering rules are a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $100,000 including one year in jail. Fines for those attending can range from $750 to $100,000 including up to one year in jail.
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Last year’s Super Bowl was the most-watched ever in Canada with nearly 19 million people tuning in to the game.
Catherine Sabiston, a kinesiology professor at the University of Toronto and a Canada Research Chair in physical activity and mental health, says it can be hard to infuse authenticity into an online event, and it’s normal to feel something’s missing when experiencing a big game solo.
“Sports make you feel like you’re a member of something, and tied to that are emotions specific to togetherness,” she said. “You think like others, you feel like others, there’s others around you in that collective environment.”
South of the border, the U.S. has seen a surge in cases following every major holiday and the worry is Sunday will be next in line.
Separate polls show that nearly a third of Americans intend to gather at someone else’s house or take in the game at a restaurant or bar.
More concerning, the Super Bowl comes as more contagious variants of the virus are starting to take hold.
Ontario health officials said Thursday that more than five percent of positive COVID-19 cases accrued in late January tested positive for multiple variants.
So far, Ontario has recorded 155 cases of a variant that first emerged in the U.K. and one case of another that first emerged in South Africa. Both are believed to be more infectious and health officials have said they expect more cases will be detected.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has also hinted the province could cancel March break in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. A decision is expected to come next week.
With files from the Canadian Press
