As new restrictions come down from the provincial health officer, the Cascades take a break
A couple weeks ago when Cascades fans and supporters got news that the teams would stop all exhibition games and honour the new guidelines set by Dr. Bonnie Henry and the provincial government, things didn’t seem so bad. With restriction easing on Nov. 23, it didn’t seem like much of a break anyway, and teams could hardly wait to get back to practising and playing as soon as the lockdown was lifted. Now, it’s clear that the situation has only gotten more complicated.
A stricter lockdown has since been put in place for the teams and players, as the new criteria mandates masks for indoor public spaces, limits interactions to core bubbles, and will last until at least Dec. 7. This likely rules out any and all competition for the Cascades till 2021, and in some ways, even calls into question the ability of the teams to play during the Winter 2021 semester. As of Sunday, the Fraser Valley was by far the biggest breakout area for COVID-19 in B.C. with 5,271 active cases. The next closest was the Vancouver region, with 1,391. The Fraser Valley area has seen 15,000 of the province’s roughly 27,000 cases.
While other teams may return to play soon if the provincial health order is not extended, UFV could wait longer since the Fraser Valley has been such a hotspot for COVID-19. Until otherwise confirmed, the Cascades are likely on a long break.