Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
Yesterday we talked about the snafu regarding the pending shuffle of the Brampton Excelsiors Major Lacrosse team to Owen Sound.
Today, let’s go to Red Deer, Alberta where the Hockey Canada Selection Camp remains in quarantine after 2 players tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
The positive test results and the subsequent quarantine has to be a nightmare on many levels for Hockey Canada who are scheduled to host the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton beginning Christmas Day.
Sequestered in Red Deer, Alberta, population around 100,000, the Selection Camp was hit by the coronavirus.
The World U20 Tournament will be in Edmonton which is 10 times the size of Red Deer.
Both centers are in a province that recently declared a public health emergency and introduced all kinds of measures and restrictions, and still the pandemic touched the Selection Camp.
Furthermore, there will be 10 times the number of participants with 9 other countries coming in from all over the world who may have been in contact with who knows who.
The 2 positive cases at the Selection Camp may seem minor, and maybe you’ll think I’m being alarmist.
But keep in mind, the COVID-19 cases came about under rigid monitoring as Hockey Canada participants were tested regularly.
Plus, this is Hockey Canada we’re talking about, essentially a government agency that oversees the sport.
So if a Canadian government organization and a province implementing strict guidelines can’t protect the health and safety of Selection Camp, what are the chances of doing so at a 10 team international tournament ?
I’m Fred Wallace