Several youth hockey clubs suspending operations due to rise in COVID-19 cases

With COVID-19 cases surging in Ontario fuelled by the spread of the Omicron variant, several youth hockey clubs in the Greater Toronto Area have announced plans to suspend operations over the next few weeks.

“Our association is faced with difficult and disappointing pandemic news. We are hearing from neighbouring hockey clubs of players and entire teams that need to self-isolate due to positive COVID tests or confirmed exposures, and modelling by the provincial government task forces suggest(s) that cases will escalate exponentially in the coming days,” a letter to parents by the North York Knights Thursday evening said.

“In response to these reports, and in combination with the recent concerns outlined by Ontario’s chief medical officer, it is with great reluctance we feel we have no choice but to suspend all North York Knights hockey activities effective immediately.”

The club announced the suspension would be in place until Jan. 8.

“There will be no exception to this decision and we ask that all families and coaches respect this decision with no teams or players entering the arenas this weekend,” the email said.

According to an update provided to CityNews Thursday evening by the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), officials said they’re only aware of the North Toronto Hockey Association and the North York Hockey League deciding to suspend activities.

RELATED: Cut contacts by 50 per cent to blunt Omicron spread, Science Table suggests

Stephanie Coratti, a GTHL spokesperson, noted just one out of 42 games scheduled for Thursday didn’t proceed with one of the teams opting to withdraw.

“We continue to monitor the situation day-to-day, as well as speak regularly and get advice from the Hospital for Sick [Children] and Toronto Public Health,” she said.

“The GTHL, through many consultations, put an extensive amount of work into our Game Plan 2.0 (a continuously updated document that houses our return to play policies and procedures), and we feel it has done a tremendous job in leading the League through our season to date as safely as possible.”

Meanwhile, teams outside of the league, such as the East York Hockey Association and the York Simcoe Minor Hockey League, also announced suspensions for the rest of the month.

The developments came after Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table called for a rapid rollout of vaccine booster doses and stronger public health measures to try and blunt the spread of the Omicron variant.

The independent panel of health experts said case counts could reach 10,000 per day if nothing is done.

The body said nearly every health unit across the province has reported a surge in COVID-19 cases and that Omicron is expected to surpass Delta as the dominant variant this week.

The Science Table added that COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions are increasing and that without any additional public health measures, ICU occupancy will surpass 600 by the end of the month. The panel said by implementing an immediate circuit breaker that cuts contacts by 50 per cent on top of measures already announced, that number could be cut in half.

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With files from CityNews’ John Marchesan and The Canadian Press