Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has blamed the return of youth sports for an uptick in coronavirus cases across the country.
“We are learning that many outbreaks in young people are related to youth sports and extracurricular activities,’’ Walensky said at a White House briefing on Monday, the New York Post reported.
“This is among 18- to 24-year-olds where we’re actually seeing some peaks in cases,” Walensky added. “Cases are increasing nationally, and we’re seeing this predominantly in younger adults.”
Walensky also said that the CDC is still advising youth sports to be “limited” in the face of the pandemic, but if states and school systems ignore that advice, more outbreaks will occur.
“The latest daily average of new US cases in the past week is 4,970, she said — up 3 percent from the daily average during the previous seven-day period,” the Post reported.
Walensky also said that once vaccinations get to those under sixteen, that will be a big change for youth sports.
Still, despite Walensky’s claims, a study from February showed very little evidence that youth sports would contribute to any coronavirus outbreaks.
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health published a study in February following the health of 30,704 high school athletes who played sports during the previous fall that revealed just how useless a lockout of sports seemed to be.
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