Medical experts worry about return of NHL in front of packed crowds

CALGARY — Following a season of silence and empty seats, crowds will be welcomed back into NHL arenas in Alberta as the preseason gets underway this weekend.

While Calgary and Edmonton are both only allowing fully vaccinated fans into their rinks, medical experts are worried this will still exacerbate the already devastating fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Lack of capacity in our healthcare system, particularly in our ICUs, to take care of people who become infected with COVID, that’s the concern,” said Dr. Daniel Gregson, associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Medicine at the University of Calgary.

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A series of doctors have expressed their concerns as well, saying that there needs to be stricter protocols in place for the wider population right now and it would be responsible to allow thousands of people to congregate in enclosed spaces like the Saddledome or Rogers Place.

“We are literally 10 patients away from having to start choosing who gets treatment & who does not”-me

Yet @EdmontonOilers & @NHLFlames are playing to ????% capacity!

"Alberta should be going into a hard lockdown right now, not playing NHL games"- A. Kumar https://t.co/sPJIYxRe8p

— Ilan Schwartz MD PhD (@GermHunterMD) September 23, 2021

The Flames feel confident people will be safe during games, with everyone 12 and over being obligated to provide proof of vaccination at the point of entry. The policy is also covering all staff and employees as well.

Flames ownership is also encouraging people to download an app called PORTpass, where you can upload your vaccination status and get a QR code which can be quickly scanned to confirm you have both shots.

Otherwise, you can also show the printable card provided by the Alberta government, show your records on the digital MyHealth Records app, or provide hard copy documentation of the vaccinations which you would have received when you got your shots.

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Photo identification will also have to be shown for these methods, except for PORTpass which also has your ID uploaded into the app.

Kids under 12 must be accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult in order to enter, and kids between the ages of 12 and 17 will not be asked to provide photo identification.

Meanwhile, most fans seem to be wary of going back to the stands right now while others feel safe knowing those around them are going to be vaccinated and people will be wearing masks for the most part.

https://twitter.com/Tommy_Slick/status/1441097879486013443

Gregson said there’s still some inherent risks here, especially when it comes to the fact kids under 12 cannot get their shots yet.

“I would think that they would probably like to limit the ages of people coming to their games to further reduce the risk of transmission to individuals who are more likely to be admitted to hospital,” he said.

Gregson said if he were in charge and could make the decisions, he probably would not allow the arenas to open up full capacity, because we are in a worse situation now than last year when fans were not permitted and it is hard to make an economic argument.

“If you’re running a situation where your healthcare system is not overloaded, you can run these events to maintain the economic activities and peoples’ wellbeing in the community. The problem we’re having now … is we unfortunately are at the situation where we need to reduce hospital admissions as much as possible.”

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There have also been concerns about people forging their vaccine documents, but a digital app like PORTpass could assist with that. Gregson is hopeful that unvaccinated people can understand the restrictions are in place to protect their safety, and it would not be worth it to fake the documents so you can see a hockey game.

NDP leader Rachel Notley also commented on the concerns on Thursday, saying she doesn’t plan on going to a game right now.

“If I happened to be the premier, I would be phoning up the (Chief Medical Officer of Health) and I’d be phoning up the public servants and I’d be saying what is the evidence about this, is this the right thing to be doing? And is this what we want to be encouraging people to do given what we’re seeing in the hospitals,” Notley said.