The word cohort has been thrown around a lot lately, but what does it mean?

A technical definition is people banded together in a group, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, cohorts have functioned a bit differently.

"The cohort concept is for groups of people where physical distancing is not always possible," explained chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. "Then if someone were to get sick or get COVID, you would have a smaller group of people within whom to contact trace if there had been a recent gathering."

Hinshaw's example for a family cohort is two families joining together without having to follow physical distancing guidelines. That way, both the adults and the children can maintain emotional well-being through regular social interaction.

However, these families would have to refrain from contact with other families to keep the cohort small. The province's current limit for cohort families is 15 people.

Now that some sports have started up again, the cohort rules apply for teams as well.

"We recognize that people cannot play team sports while maintaining consistent two-metres distance at all times. We also recognize that sports provide mental and physical health benefits," added Hinshaw. "This is about risk mitigation and setting out a rule of 50 people per sports team cohort."

COVID-19 cohorts are also called bubbles, circles, or safe squads, and are one way the province is hoping to slow the spread of the virus.

More information on cohort guidelines can be found here.