As COVID cases peak in Alberta, some wonder why hockey OK but Thanksgiving isn’t
Posted Oct 8, 2021 4:58 pm.
Last Updated Oct 12, 2021 9:51 am.
CALGARY (CityNews) – There’s a lot of festive things to do this weekend for Thanksgiving.
Something Calgarians might be interested in includes going to a packed Saddledome to watch the Calgary Flames. That has some Albertans wondering why sitting in an arena with 18,000 people is okay but having more than two households for Thanksgiving dinner is not.
“We don’t have room for you in our ICUs or our hospitals for that matter so now is not the time to get infected particularly if you’re not immunized,” said Dr. Daniel Gregson, associate professor of infectious disease at the University of Calgary.
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“We’re still averaging about 1,200 new cases per day and that translates into about 60 hospital admissions per day somewhere down the road and 10 to 12 ICU admissions somewhere down the road and some people dying.”
Gregson says COVID numbers may appear to be down but it is more of a flattening than a decrease, adding Alberta hospital and ICU numbers are 10 times worse than they were at the end of July. He says now is not the time to gather with more than two households for Thanksgiving, otherwise, it could spark a rise in cases like last year.
“Everybody talks about super spreader events, you know, these things that happen in bars or restaurants which do happen, but in actual fact, most transmission occurs in households and, you know, masks off in indoor spaces without great ventilation is a recipe for transmission,” added Gregson.
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“A large arena is not the same as a household, the airflow is different and you’re only close to a small number of people in the stadium for a relatively brief period of time.”
Everyone attending a Flames game must also show proof of vaccination, that includes the employees, and be masked except for when they are drinking or eating.
