The state is investigating a Covid-19 outbreak tied to a Williston-based hockey club.
Contact tracers so far have identified 11 cases connected to Full Stride Hockey, Vermont Department of Health spokesperson Ben Truman confirmed Friday afternoon.
Truman said he was not able to speak to the affected individuals’ conditions.
Full Stride Hockey owner and head instructor Dan McFall said Thursday a team captain had notified him that the team had to cancel its final game of the season “due to a couple of reports of positive cases on the team.”
He was not sure how many of the infected players had been vaccinated. He said the league encourages players to be vaccinated and to follow guidelines from the state, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the arenas.
The club’s games have been played at Cairns Arena in South Burlington and Leddy Ice Arena in Burlington, according to schedules on the Full Stride website.
“Our hope is that our community gets back to normal soon,” McFall said. “The shutdowns, though perhaps necessary, hit the local sports industry and those employed by this industry hard over the last year and a half.”
More than 120 Covid-19 cases were linked to an outbreak at the ice rink at Montpelier’s Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center last fall.
In that outbreak, infections were reported among members of adult and youth hockey teams and broomball players, in addition to further transmission in the community.
Truman, with the health department, said Vermonters should take several steps during the Delta variant-fueled surge of cases in Vermont, including getting vaccinated, staying home when you’re sick, getting tested if you have symptoms, washing hands regularly and wearing a mask in indoor public spaces.
VTDigger’s Maggie Cassidy contributed to this report.
