TYNE VALLEY, P.E.I. — Adam MacLennan didn’t need much of a description of the symptoms when fellow rink users started calling him Monday morning, reporting respiratory issues.
The Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre assistant manager was experiencing the same symptoms.
“Throughout the night and into the morning, including myself, we didn’t really feel well,” said MacLennan, who played hockey at the rink Sunday night.
He said players on both teams admitted to feeling excessively tired. Coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing persisted after they went home, but it was only in the morning, when they started sharing symptoms, that he and several other fellow rec hockey players decided to go to the hospital to get checked out.
And then more concerns were received.
“It started being brought to our attention later in the morning that some of the minor hockey players and parents who were in the rink earlier in the afternoon, or in the evening, they weren’t feeling good,” MacLennan reported.
“We kind of got the wheels rolling this morning when we figured out there might have been an issue at the rink,” MacLennan said.
He said he was not prescribed medication and his condition improved as the day progressed, although he was still experiencing a bit of a cough Monday afternoon.
SYMPTOMS
Social media messages were posted around noontime Monday, urging anyone who was at the sports centre on Sunday and who was experiencing excessive headaches, coughing and/or shortness of breath to seek medical attention.
“All hands are on deck to find the unforeseen issue and address it immediately,” the Facebook post advised.
Hello everyone!! ~ I would like to make a Public Announcement on behalf of the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre ~ As...
Posted by Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre on Monday, November 18, 2019
MacLennan said the symptoms, different from a cold or flu, resulted in the rink board and management closing the facility to the public and placing calls to provincial officials – including the provincial fire marshal’s office, Public Health and Environmental Health to have the facility checked out. He said it will remain closed until the source of the problem is determined and the necessary repairs are made.
The refrigeration plant will also be examined, he said.
Paul Noye, president of the sports centre’s board of directors, confirmed officials are investigating the incident.
“We can’t open until we find out what the issue was and repair it,” said Noye.
A spokesman for the provincial fire marshal's office said the matter is in the hands of Environmental Health and the Chief Boiler Inspector.