Health

Are youth sports an engine of B.1.1.7 outbreaks?

Several states with hot spots overhaul their coronavirus testing strategies, relying on weekly or biweekly testing of teens and kids

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
April 6, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. EDT

Dan Culhane, 62, took extraordinary precautions when he returned to the ice as a youth hockey referee in January. He triple-masked, wore a plexiglass face shield on his helmet and donned his gear at home to minimize time indoors.

It wasn’t enough.

Culhane, who died on Feb. 28 of covid-19, is one of more than 189 people confirmed or suspected to be linked to an unusual youth sports outbreak of the coronavirus in Carver County, Minn., driven by the B.1.1.7 variant that was first seen in the United Kingdom. The interlinked cases span all levels of K-12 schools, from elementary to high school, and 18 hockey, four basketball, three lacrosse and one soccer teams.

“Until now we haven’t seen transmission like this in kids in the pandemic,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Minnesota who served as an adviser to President Biden.

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Shea Champine, right, of Bishop Canevin High School reacts after his team forfeited its quarterfinal basketball game in the state playoffs on March 19 in East Carnegie, Pa., after a player tested positive for the coronavirus. (Barry Reeger/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/AP)

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James Madison High School basketball players cheer from the bench during the second half against Osbourn Park on Feb. 20 in Vienna, Va. (Will Newton for The Washington Post)

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Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Ariana Eunjung Cha
Ariana Eunjung Cha is a national reporter. She has previously served as The Post's bureau chief in Shanghai and San Francisco, and as a correspondent in Baghdad. Follow https://twitter.com/arianaeunjung