Rhode Island has decided to take a break from sports for a week and close all indoor facilities such as basketball courts and ice rinks. This will affect all athletes who play an indoor sport. This protocol starts Mon., Nov. 9 and ends the following Monday. The spread of COVID-19 throughout Rhode Island is rising and everyone has to do their part to keep everyone safe.

Governor Gina Raimondo is trying to do her best to keep everyone safe. There are about two weeks left until our fall sports season is over. Rhode Island must do their part to keep the season moving, even if that means shutting down places. There shall be no spectators allowed in the next two weeks too. Raimondo said, “We’ve seen as much a problem with spectators as we have with the kids, so we are asking the parents to hold back for two weeks and hopefully they’ll be able to go watch the playoffs.”  

Ice hockey has also been a big contributor to the COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island. Also, other states have had this issue too. To stop this, RI’s closing down indoor facilities, such as ice rinks, for a week to slow down the spread of cases. The Providence Journal stated, “Statistics released by the state Department of Health said over the last three months, ninety-six confirmed cases were directly related to youth sports. More than half were because of hockey.”

The COVID-19 cases aren’t spreading through schools, but more youth sports. Over the past three months, there have been ninety three confirmed cases spread through youth sports. Games this fall have been cancelled or postponed. Overall, athletes (student athletes especially) want to keep playing sports this year and the state legislature is doing its best to keep everyone safe.