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How to Approach Positive Tests and Close Contacts
2022-02-03The following guidance was received from Hockey PEI.
Positive Tests and Close Contacts:
- PEI Information for people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
- Should a member of a team test positive for COVID-19 they should:
- Isolate immediately
- Contact their appropriate team rep and work with their team rep to identify close contacts.
- Have their team rep let the appropriate Minor Hockey Association executive know (typically the President).
- The MHA executive is then to notify Tanner Doiron of Hockey PEI.
- *Due to legality and privacy concerns, no names need to be circulated outside of the team. Simply advise of the team impacted and date of positive test.
- A close contact is someone who fits one of the following during someone's infectious period (beginning 48 hours before symptoms started, or, if no symptoms, 48 hours before the positive test was taken):
- You had face to face interaction for at least 10 minutes, including 10 minutes in total over a 24-hour period (this means including total minutes added up over a 24-hour period, e.g. 2.5 min + 2.5 min + 2.5 min + 2.5 min over the span of a practice).
- Were within 2 meters (6 feet) indoors for at least 10 minutes,
- You were hugging, touching, kissing, coughing or sneezing near,
- Who provided care to you at home.
- Note: If both individuals wore an appropriate well-fitting mask properly for the duration of the interaction (or at minimum the case), this wouldn’t be considered a close contact situation. An appropriate mask would be a three-layer non-medical mask that includes a filter layer, a medical mask, or a respirator.
- Minimize the risk of transmission and minimize who is considered a close contact:
- The general measures for limiting transmission of COVID-19 in a sport or recreation setting would be the same as the general population. Steps that limit transmission would also limit who would be considered a close contact. General measures that could be taken to mitigate risk of transmission and who is identified as a close contact would include:
- Not attending if not feeling well and getting tested if symptoms of COVID-19,
- Wearing a well-fitted three-layer mask including a filter layer wherever you can, including in dressing rooms, team meetings, and during activities that require minimal exertion (e.g. some activities with younger children, some drills, etc.)
- Maintaining distancing
- Keeping groups small and consistent for activities involving closer contact (e.g. close contact drills in consistent pairs or small groups), and
- Gathering outdoors rather than indoors.
- The general measures for limiting transmission of COVID-19 in a sport or recreation setting would be the same as the general population. Steps that limit transmission would also limit who would be considered a close contact. General measures that could be taken to mitigate risk of transmission and who is identified as a close contact would include:
- Hockey-related FAQ:
- “We had a team practice last night and a player tested positive today. What do I do?"
- Individuals are now responsible for notifying their own close contacts. Team members would be subject to isolation if they were within 6 feet of the person who was positive, while the person who was positive was not wearing an appropriate well-fitting, three-layer mask with filter, or medical or respirator, for at least 10 minutes over the span of the activity/24 hours.
- “Is a coach who wasn’t in a dressing room but was on ice for practice with a team who had a positive kid on team considered a close contact?”
- Were they within 6 ft of the person who was positive, while the person who was positive was not wearing an appropriate well-fitting, three-layer mask with filter, or medical or respirator, for at least 10 minutes over the span of the activity/24 hours? If yes, they are subject to isolation.
- “We had a kid on our team test positive for COVID-19, and not all members of the team were wearing masks inside the dressing room area, does this mean our entire team has to isolate as close contacts or only those who didn’t wear their masks?”
- Was the person who tested positive wearing an appropriate three layer well-fitting mask with a filter or a medical grade mask or a respirator properly? What interaction did they have outside of the dressing room also when they were not wearing a mask?
- How long do I need to isolate for if I am a close contact?
- “We had a team practice last night and a player tested positive today. What do I do?"