Photo: Tampa Bay Times
As a condition of a formal agreement in place between the league, teams, and players, the NHL will now be providing all official announcements regarding testing for COVID-19 and subsequent cases detected as a result of the testing. On Monday, the league released its second official weekly update.
The NHL conducted COVID-19 tests on 1450 players with 15 testing positive for the virus. In addition, since Phase Two opened on June 7, 11 other players outside of the phased protocol have tested positive. All players who contracted the virus have gone into quarantine and followed the appropriate health protocols.
Coronavirus cases have spiked in the south, especially in Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida, the new hot spot for the virus. Cases in Nevada, where the NHL is considering resuming the 2019-20 season, have also been on the rise in recent weeks. The Tampa Bay Lightning re-opened their facilities last week a few days after three players and two staff members tested positive for the virus.
NHL teams are planning to open training camps a week from this Friday and the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will reportedly resume in two hub cities on Thursday, July 30.
By Harrison Brown