Province’s Hail Mary to CFL could work with cautious game plan

Opinion

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This article was published 20/07/2020 (1656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hosting the Canadian Football League in Winnipeg as a hub city during the pandemic would be a huge morale booster for Manitoba. But depending on how strict the public health measures are surrounding the estimated 800 players, trainers and others who would make Winnipeg their temporary home, it also comes with potential health risks.

If done right, and if properly supervised by provincial health officials, this would be a good thing for Winnipeg.

Under the proposal, players, coaches, trainers and others associated with the teams would remain in a “bubble” throughout their time in the city. That means, much like NHL teams in Edmonton and Toronto under that league’s hub city plan, they would not physically interact with the outside world while they are here.

They would be isolated; in their hotels, where they eat, during transportation to and from games and practices, and at the games themselves. There would be no fans in the stands. Teams would not travel in and out of the province once the season started.

This works in theory. It’s good for the economy, it’s valuable branding for the city and it’s an important morale booster for many Manitobans during an otherwise gloomy time.

However, there are caveats. There are unanswered questions. There is risk. How much risk is difficult to tell unless we know more about the province’s oversight plans.

When asked how the province would monitor the league’s compliance with public health rules, Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, said that hadn’t been worked out yet, although everything was on the table.

Recommendation: if the province is going to do this, it needs to ensure strict adherence to the rules through regular inspections and spot checks of teams and league officials.

Roussin does make a good point, however; the league is highly motivated, for financial reasons, to mitigate the risk of transmission. If COVID-19 case numbers do climb, even from “inter-bubble transmission,” the season could be cancelled.

Roussin does make a good point, however; the league is highly motivated, for financial reasons, to mitigate the risk of transmission. If COVID-19 case numbers do climb, even from “inter-bubble transmission,” the season could be cancelled.

Still, questions remain. What about quarantine rules for players and others coming from COVID-19 hotspots in the U.S., such as Florida, Arizona and Texas? Not everyone from those jurisdictions would necessarily be required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in Winnipeg, Roussin said. The thinking is if they’re coming into an isolated community of 800 people, any outbreaks would remain within the group and wouldn’t spread to the general public. Wouldn’t it be prudent to have them self-isolate anyway upon arrival?

Also, there would be no asymptomatic testing of players and staff in the bubble; only those exhibiting symptoms would likely get a swab, said Roussin. False negatives for asymptomatic testing are high (people can still have the disease without symptoms even after a negative test). Since they’re in a bubble, the usefulness of asymptomatic testing may be less than it is in the general population. Again, wouldn’t it be better to stay on the safe side and do asymptomatic testing anyway?

If the right measures are taken, this could be a relatively low-risk proposition for Manitoba. But it’s reasonable to ask: why take any risk at all for something as discretionary as CFL football (or any other professional sports)? Because we can’t operate under a no-risk environment.

We have to take some risks, like reopening the economy, as long as they are calculated ones.

Manitoba eliminated the 14-day self-isolation requirement for people entering the province from western provinces, for example, in large part to help boost tourism. It was a calculated, low-risk move. However, if test positivity rates continue to rise in Alberta and Saskatchewan, that decision may have to be reversed.

It wouldn’t take much for a CFL bubble to burst in Winnipeg. If it did, there could be significant public health consequences, not to mention a serious political fallout. The slightest notion that a community outbreak was caused by a CFL player, or a league staff member, would result in a major backlash against the Pallister government.

If the right precautions are taken, with appropriate oversight from public health officials, winning the bid to host the CFL would be a very good thing for a province that’s made a lot of sacrifices to keep its test positivity rate one of the lowest in North America.

The devil will be in the details.