PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Over the last three months, around 100 positive coronavirus tests in Rhode Island have been linked to youth sports, resulting in more than 900 people having to quarantine, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
In response to that and an overall increase in new cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced new restrictions on Friday, which include shutting down indoor athletic facilities for a week and banning spectators from sporting events for two weeks.
“The high school sports season only has a couple of weeks left before they start the playoffs. I really want to allow these kids to finish their season, so one way to do that is for us to not go be spectators,” Raimondo said.
Roughly a third of the cases linked to youth sports were related to hockey, according to the governor, which is why she shut down ice rinks.
In the above video, 12 News reporter Shiina LoSciuto chats with local student-athletes and a hockey mom about the changes, which they hope are truly only temporary.
