NHL and Canucks still waiting on final approval to play games in Canada, likely 'soon'
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The Province Hockey
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It seems likely final approval of the NHL's plans to play games in Canada this season — without fans — is close. Planning by the Vancouver Canucks and their six Canadian NHL rivals to play games in their home arenas — without fans, at least to start — continues apace, even while they wait for final approval from public health officials.
That came after the league received a letter written by Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and supported by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, and their colleagues in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. The provincial health officers told the NHL they needed to do more testing of close contacts of players and staff, as well as engage in a campaign to promote vaccinations to the general public.
We have made suggestions to the NHL which they have taken up and we believe that those plans meet the safety protocols in terms of a public health risk,” Henry said Thursday in a media conference call.
He added that the five provincial health officers had made the decision early on to work collectively in their talks with the NHL, to speak with one voice.
Thursday morning the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that they had allowed modifications to the 14-day quarantine period for NHLers arriving from abroad. In the Canucks’ case, this simply codifies the approvals they’d previously received from Vancouver Coastal Health and the province both for the July return-to-play training camp and for their upcoming camp: that players who test negative after a week in isolation either in their hotel room or at their home are allowed to go directly to and from Rogers Arena to work out on their own.
That came after the league received a letter written by Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and supported by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, and their colleagues in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. The provincial health officers told the NHL they needed to do more testing of close contacts of players and staff, as well as engage in a campaign to promote vaccinations to the general public.
We have made suggestions to the NHL which they have taken up and we believe that those plans meet the safety protocols in terms of a public health risk,” Henry said Thursday in a media conference call.
He added that the five provincial health officers had made the decision early on to work collectively in their talks with the NHL, to speak with one voice.
Thursday morning the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that they had allowed modifications to the 14-day quarantine period for NHLers arriving from abroad. In the Canucks’ case, this simply codifies the approvals they’d previously received from Vancouver Coastal Health and the province both for the July return-to-play training camp and for their upcoming camp: that players who test negative after a week in isolation either in their hotel room or at their home are allowed to go directly to and from Rogers Arena to work out on their own.