Strict COVID-19 testing protocols concern team
The San Jose Sharks welcomed forward Marcus Sorensen back after a 10-day absence but remained concerned that more false-positive coronavirus tests could sideline additional players for lengthy periods due to strict Santa Clara
County protocols.
Sorensen, 28, had to isolate for 10 days after a test he took came back positive earlier this month, forcing him to miss five straight games. He skated with the Sharks again Monday morning prior to the team’s game with the Vegas Golden Knights, but will not be in the lineup.
Sorensen practiced on March 4 but said he received a text message that night saying he would not be allowed to practice or play with the team the following day. However, two more follow-up tests issued to Sorensen came back negative, helping him determine the first result was a false positive.
Initially, Sorensen thought he
would only have to miss a few days, as the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols indicate a player can exit isolation and return to his team after a positive test if he tests negative for three subsequent days. However, Santa Clara County protocols for professional athletes mandate that individuals must stay quarantined for 10 days after a positive test, regardless of whether multiple negative tests follow.
“I knew that it was a positive test, but I didn’t feel like I hadn’t any symptoms or anything like that,” Sorensen said. “Then I knew a couple of days later that I had to stay in for 10 days. First I thought it was going to be three or four days, but it was 10 days.”
An email sent to a county spokesperson asking why 10 days in isolation is still required for pro athletes after multiple negative tests was not immediately returned Monday.
Last week in an explanation of the protocol, a county spokesperson wrote to this news organization that, “the Health Officer’s Risk Reduction Order requires all businesses and governmental entities, including professional sports teams, to comply with all isolation and quarantine protocols specified by the County, including excluding positive cases and close contacts from the workplace during the isolation and quarantine period.”
Forward Tomas Hertl tested positive for COVID-19, was symptomatic, and had to miss 14 days and six games before he returned to play Friday and Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks. Sorensen, though, was the first Sharks player this season to have to sit out for 10 days after a false positive test.
“I mean, it’s scary. You don’t want anyone to be in that situation,” Sorensen said. “It’s hard. I had full energy and stayed inside my apartment for 10 days.
“It was a hard situation. If you’re sick, you’re probably in your bed and you can’t really do anything, but I wanted to do a lot more than I did. So I hope no one else gets in that position again.”
So does everyone else in the Sharks organization.
The Sharks (11-11-3) have 33 games remaining and entered Monday eight points out of a playoff spot. Although they absorbed the loss of Sorensen, bolstered by the return of Hertl and Timo Meier (lower-body injury) late last week, they can ill afford to be without more experienced players as they try to chase down a spot in the postseason.
“It’s difficult,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “I think we’re the only team that that could possibly happen to, so it’s tough. It’s out of our hands, nothing that Marcus or we could have done differently. Just hope and pray that it doesn’t happen again.”