FOUR MORE POSITIVE TESTS FROM SENS TRIP
Total of five players, two others stricken in rash of cases linked to California swing
The Ottawa Senators have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus after the club confirmed Wednesday afternoon four more people who made the trip to California have been diagnosed with COVID -19.
The Senators received the positive test results for the three players and one staff member after eight people were tested by local health authorities because they were having symptoms of the virus when they arrived back home in Ottawa. That brings the total to seven people aboard the club’s Air Canada Jetz charter that returned from California on March 12 that have tested positive for the virus. Two unnamed players already had been confirmed as having the virus, while broadcaster Gord Wilson said publicly Friday night he also had received conformation of a positive test. The club indicated the five players and staff member have all recovered from the COVID -19 pandemic that has spread worldwide.
The charter jet was on the runway for a couple of hours at LAX while the Senators were waiting for the final decision from the NHL’s board of governors that the schedule would be postponed, while the players also had two days off in Anaheim before taking on the Ducks.
The club haven’t named the players or staff member diagnosed because of privacy laws in Canada and it’s up to the players or staff member to decide if they want to go public.
“Members of the team and staff self-isolated on Friday, March
13, and are all doing well. All test results have now been received, and all those who tested positive have recovered,” the club said in a statement Wednesday.
“The Ottawa Senators’ medical team continues to monitor players and staff and are following all appropriate and professional guidelines to help ensure the health and safety of our employees and the greater community.”
Deputy commissioner Bill
Daly told the Citizen in an email Wednesday there are no plans to test the whole Senators team because of the latest confirmation of positive tests.
“Everyone who had symptoms was tested,” Daly said. “There really is no reason to test anyone else. No one is symptomatic and no one is sick and they all have been in self-quarantine for three weeks.”
Testing was done with local public health officials and nobody was sent for a test unless displaying symptoms. Wilson told Postmedia Friday night he wasn’t feeling well, and when he checked the symptoms online he felt that he should be tested.
“I went and got tested because I was feeling so rundown from California and it was much a fear for (his wife Patricia Boal) going into work as anything,” Wilson said Friday after Boal made the diagnosis public on CTV Ottawa during the supper-hour news broadcast. “I was starting to feel pretty low mid-week and that’s when they told Trish that they would do the news from our backyard.
“We’re all internet doctors.
You read the symptoms and I’m checking them off as I’m reading along. ‘OK, yeah, I’ve got a runny nose. OK, yeah, I’ve got pressure on the chest. OK, yes, I’m out of breath. Have I had the chills?
Yes, occasionally. Muscle aches? Yes, for sure.’”
Wilson said Wednesday afternoon he’s doing much better and is self-isolating at home.
The Senators were the first team to confirm a positive test by an NHL player, on March 17, and that came just after the club returned from a trip through California from March 6 to 12 that made stops in San Jose on March 7, Anaheim on March 10 and Los Angeles on March 11.
The Senators were scheduled to play in Chicago on March 13 but returned to Ottawa on March 12 because the league went on pause.
Players were instructed by to self-quarantine for 14 days — preferably in the city where they play — in an email from Daly on March 13. Three days later, the league told players they were free to return to their homes across the world but should remain in self-isolation. That period was extended to April 15 in an email to league GMs on Tuesday.
The Senators confirmed they had a second case of the coronavirus on March 21 and the Colorado Avalanche, who have had two cases of COVID-19, are the only other team that has been affected by the outbreak.
The Avalanche and Senators were both making their way through California in early March when it was considered a hotpsot for the coronavirus and a state of emergency had been declared in the area. The Senators faced the Sharks on Saturday, March 7, and the Avalanche were in town Sunday before San Jose left on a lengthy road trip.
Neither the Sharks, Ducks nor Kings have had any confirmed cases of COVID-19. bgarrioch@postmedia.com