‘It’s not worth it’: Referee who contracted COVID says think twice before playing hockey

A Regina man who contracted COVID-19 while refereeing an adult rec game says it’s not worth it to be playing hockey right now.

Elemer Jerkovits, who has been reffing for almost 25 years, joined the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Friday. He said he felt comfortable with the modifications made for the sport during the pandemic and thought the protocols were sufficient.

“It really was a minimal touch process. Drop the puck once and it’s more like a shinny game,” said Jerkovits.

“What I’m finding out later is that the environment of a hockey rink is not the greatest place to be because the virus tends to hang in the air and transmission’s easy due to humidity and possibly insufficient ventilation.”

That’s what Jerkovits believes was a factor that led to his infection. He was notified in late November that he worked a game where multiple players were infected.

Jerkovits had already felt sick for a couple days with a fever, shakes and headache and thought it was the flu. He and his wife got tested and they both came back positive.

His advice to parents signing an online petition calling on Premier Scott Moe to bring hockey back to Saskatchewan is simple: Think twice.

“Take it from somebody who has got it, that maybe this isn’t the right time to be pushing that kind of activity upon your kids,” said Jerkovits.

Jerkovits said he would not return to the rink if hockey were to be brought back right now.

“It’s not worth it,” he said.