Nearly three dozen professional hockey players have tested positive for the coronavirus, and World Series champions closed training camp while professional sports are still trying to advance with a planned restart during the pandemic, the NHL and Nationals announced Monday. Washington.
The NHL has evaluated 396 players and 23 were positive, plus the league knows 12 other players who have tested positive separately since June 8, authorities said.
The league and the players’ union on Sunday night agreed protocols to start training camps and resume the season. Safety precautions include daily testing once games for players, coaches, and staff start.
The season closed in mid-March. The sport hopes to start the games, on empty arenas, later this month or early August before the Stanley Cup is awarded in October.
Professional hockey, basketball, and baseball hope to start playing soon to save what they can from their coronavirus-interrupted seasons.
MLB teams reported to their local stadiums last weekend for exercise, moving away from their traditional preseason training venue at coronavirus hotspots in Florida and Arizona. Those states ranked first and second in positive test rates in the past seven days, according to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The World Series champions Washington Nationals closed their training camp in the country’s capital on Monday after two players tested positive.
“We cannot make our players and staff work at risk,” general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement Monday. “Therefore, we have canceled the training for our team scheduled for this morning. We will not sacrifice the health and safety of our players, the staff and their families.”
MLB hopes to launch a 60-game season on July 23.
