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EVHA COVID Updates

By EVHA, 11/12/20, 9:15PM CST

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We are committed to conducting a safe and healthy season this year.  We continue to need your help and cooperation.  Please review the following information regarding team gatherings (Season is at risk), locker room closures, and COVID communication details. 

Our Season Is At Risk

First, the good news.  Our district leaders are hearing that MN Hockey and MIAMA are being looked at as the gold standard in our efforts to help control the spread of COVID-19.  Our efforts on the ice are doing a very good job minimizing exposures and keeping our hockey family healthy and safe!  They feel we dodged a bullet by not being shut down!

The bad news - we need you to cancel your team social gatherings.   

Most of the new cases involving hockey are being traced back to gatherings and interaction off the ice:  socializing and gatherings, especially at tournaments. 

We have been asked by our district to ask that teams keep any social gatherings to a minimum and to that end, as much as everyone would like to socialize, EVHA is  asking that you please cancel any social gatherings with your teams.  This includes team dinners, pot lucks at hotels, field trips to locations, charity events, etc.  This also lines up with the new orders in place from Gov. Walz.

We realize this is a sacrifice, but it is in service of allowing us to continue our season! 

Thank you very much for your cooperation.


Locker Rooms Closing At Apple Valley & Burnsville

Apple Valley will be closing their locker rooms effective November 14.

Burnsville will be shutting down locker rooms effective  November 23.

All skaters and goalies are required to come dressed and ready to take the ice when they arrive at our arenas.

Whenever possible, we would like the players to come fully dressed with skates so they can just be prepared to step on the ice.

NO BAGS will be allowed (goalies are also NOT allowed to bring bags - they can bring their pads and skates in and put them on at the rink.)

If players need to put their skates on in the rink, specific "put on/incoming" and "Take Off/outgoing" locations will be setup to keep intermingling between teams at a minimum.

Goalies can carry in their pads, but NO BAGS will be allowed at Apple Valley or Burnsville.

At this time, Eagan noted it could change quickly, but as of now ECA locker rooms will remain open.


COVID Communication Policy

We, unfortunately, anticipate the need to send more COVID notifications as our county numbers are rising quickly.  

EVHA reports confirmed positive cases to the MN Department of Health and based on interviews they help determine who would be considered close contacts and at risk.  MDH lets us know who will be required to quarantine. They tend to be cautious and will err on the side of caution when considering a close contact.   That said, we don't notify each individual team/member unless they are considered exposed and required to quarantine. 

We will send a specific communicate to the teams that may have been at the practice/game to ensure they're aware of the risk, but will not provide any additional specifics due to MDHs strict privacy policies around what we can share – and we follow their advice/guidance on any communications.

We will NOT be sending notifications of any individuals quarantining due to non-hockey exposures that had no close contacts with the hockey community during or at an EVHA Event.

In short, EVHA will:

  1. Notify any close contacts as determined and in cooperation with the MDH.  (Close contact is considered 15 min of exposure less than 6 feet apart over 12 hours.)
  2. Send a note to any impacted level (mite) or team/s (traveling) that may have been on the ice at the same time as the confirmed case (shared practices, opposition for games) letting them know there was a positive case at that level/team and, if needed/directed by MDH, call for team quarantine.
  3. Communicate association wide noting an EVHA Community exposure (as you saw this afternoon) without any specifics other than how many positive cases we were informed about that day.

Again, we remind you to follow the MN Department of Health Decision Tree to determine if you should quarantine due to exposure.  If you have a confirmed positive test, please contact our Covid Coordinator, Matt McCarthy, so contact tracing can be conducted.

Finally, we thank you for your cooperation and understanding.  We are all exhausted from the constant news about the pandemic and like you are anxious for it to be history.  Until then, we're in it together and let's keep safe so we can have a full and safe hockey season!