Staff Writers Kevin Miller and Eric Russell have been part of a terrific crew of reporters helping us understand the COVID pandemic. Their deep dive into higher COVID case counts (“In Maine, Northeast, youth drive case counts much higher,” April 18, Page A1) caught my attention when they wrote that public health officials suggest that this rise is due to multiple factors including “… increased sports and social activities … . ” Unfortunately, in the article, they provide no data or even expert opinion that implicates sports as a cause of higher transmission rates.

There is a narrative in the public sphere that outdoor sports involving heavy breathing and physical contact are an obvious way that transmission occurs of the virus that causes COVID-19. This narrative intuitively makes sense but is actually mistaken and not supported by data.

In the April 20 editorial (“Our View: What’s next for fully vaccinated Mainers?” Page A12), the Editorial Board wisely suggests that we need “more nuanced guidance based on what we have learned.” As the Editorial Board points out, we have learned that countertops and doorknobs are not a major source of transmission. Likewise, we have learned that outdoor school sports are not cause of COVID-19 transmission.

Speculating that increased sporting activities is contributing to higher transmission of COVID-19 is a reasonable, though I believe flawed, hypothesis. I ask that you be cautious about making the statement that sports is causing more COVID cases unless you then support that assertion in the body of your story.

Michael Curtis
Portland

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