Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament
Abstract Background Data are lacking regarding the risk of viral SARS-CoV-2 transmission during a large indoor sporting event involving fans utilizing a controlled environment. We sought to describe case characteristics, mitigation protocols used, variants detected, and secondary infections detected...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14547-1 |
| _version_ | 1811180295526809600 |
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| author | Brian E. Dixon William F. Fadel Thomas J. Duszynski Virgina A. Caine Joeseph F. Meyer Michele Saysana |
| author_facet | Brian E. Dixon William F. Fadel Thomas J. Duszynski Virgina A. Caine Joeseph F. Meyer Michele Saysana |
| author_sort | Brian E. Dixon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Data are lacking regarding the risk of viral SARS-CoV-2 transmission during a large indoor sporting event involving fans utilizing a controlled environment. We sought to describe case characteristics, mitigation protocols used, variants detected, and secondary infections detected during the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament involving collegiate athletes from across the U.S. Methods This retrospective cohort study used data collected from March 16 to April 3, 2021, as part of a closed environment which required daily reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, social distancing, universal masking, and limited contact between tiers of participants. Nearly 3000 players, staff, and vendors participated in indoor, unmasked activities that involved direct exposure between cases and noninfected individuals. The main outcome of interest was transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as measured by the number of new infections and variant(s) detected among positive cases. Secondary infections were identified through contact tracing by public health officials. Results Out of 2660 participants, 15 individuals (0.56%) screened positive for SARS-CoV-2. Four cases involved players or officials, and all cases were detected before any individual played in or officiated a game. Secondary transmissions all occurred outside the controlled environment. Among those disqualified from the tournament (4 cases; 26.7%), all individuals tested positive for the Iota variant (B.1.526). All other cases involved the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7). Nearly all teams (N = 58; 85.3%) reported that some individuals had received at least one dose of a vaccine. Overall, 17.9% of participants either had at least one dose of the vaccine or possessed documented infection within 90 days of the tournament. Conclusion In this retrospective cohort study of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament closed environment, only a few cases were detected, and they were discovered in advance of potential exposure. These findings support the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for large indoor sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:47:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-628d584667684454bccb9f45b8dfd82d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:47:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-628d584667684454bccb9f45b8dfd82d2022-12-22T04:39:17ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582022-11-0122111010.1186/s12889-022-14547-1Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball TournamentBrian E. Dixon0William F. Fadel1Thomas J. Duszynski2Virgina A. Caine3Joeseph F. Meyer4Michele Saysana5Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana UniversityFairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana UniversityFairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana UniversityMarion County Public Health DepartmentIndiana University HealthIndiana University School of MedicineAbstract Background Data are lacking regarding the risk of viral SARS-CoV-2 transmission during a large indoor sporting event involving fans utilizing a controlled environment. We sought to describe case characteristics, mitigation protocols used, variants detected, and secondary infections detected during the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament involving collegiate athletes from across the U.S. Methods This retrospective cohort study used data collected from March 16 to April 3, 2021, as part of a closed environment which required daily reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, social distancing, universal masking, and limited contact between tiers of participants. Nearly 3000 players, staff, and vendors participated in indoor, unmasked activities that involved direct exposure between cases and noninfected individuals. The main outcome of interest was transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as measured by the number of new infections and variant(s) detected among positive cases. Secondary infections were identified through contact tracing by public health officials. Results Out of 2660 participants, 15 individuals (0.56%) screened positive for SARS-CoV-2. Four cases involved players or officials, and all cases were detected before any individual played in or officiated a game. Secondary transmissions all occurred outside the controlled environment. Among those disqualified from the tournament (4 cases; 26.7%), all individuals tested positive for the Iota variant (B.1.526). All other cases involved the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7). Nearly all teams (N = 58; 85.3%) reported that some individuals had received at least one dose of a vaccine. Overall, 17.9% of participants either had at least one dose of the vaccine or possessed documented infection within 90 days of the tournament. Conclusion In this retrospective cohort study of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament closed environment, only a few cases were detected, and they were discovered in advance of potential exposure. These findings support the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for large indoor sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14547-1COVID-19 pandemicSARS-CoV-2 virusPublic Health SurveillanceCommunicable disease controlInfectious disease transmissionBasketball |
| spellingShingle | Brian E. Dixon William F. Fadel Thomas J. Duszynski Virgina A. Caine Joeseph F. Meyer Michele Saysana Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament BMC Public Health COVID-19 pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus Public Health Surveillance Communicable disease control Infectious disease transmission Basketball |
| title | Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament |
| title_full | Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament |
| title_fullStr | Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament |
| title_short | Mitigation of COVID-19 at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament |
| title_sort | mitigation of covid 19 at the 2021 national collegiate athletic association men s basketball tournament |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus Public Health Surveillance Communicable disease control Infectious disease transmission Basketball |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14547-1 |
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