When it comes to coronavirus risks, Americans are divided over indoor sports – By Jamie Leventhal (PBS Newshour) / Dec 10 2020
As temperatures drop in much of the United States, American sports enthusiasts are likely weighing the risks of playing indoors during the worst surge of the coronavirus pandemic so far. A majority of Americans – 58 percent – say that people should not participate in indoor team sports this winter, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll, revealing a major divide between Democrats and Republicans on this health question.
The groups most concerned about risks of the coronavirus included women, people who live in the Northeast, Democrats, baby boomers and people over the age of 74, with at least 62 percent of each group disapproving of indoor team sport participation. In contrast, men, people who live in the South, Gen Xers and Republicans more heavily responded that people should play indoor team sports, with upwards of 41 percent of each group in favor.
Coronavirus infection rates continue to spike, with daily new cases reaching nearly 220,000 in the United States, while the overall national death toll has exceeded 289,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Public health experts have warned that gatherings that take place indoors with poor ventilation are the most likely environments to spread the virus, and notable coronavirus outbreaks this fall have been linked to indoor sports. Heavy breathing, screaming and spitting release the virus in tiny bioaerosol particles, which can hang around for longer in cold and dry air, like in ice rinks.
