Safety ‘top priority’
Alberta crafting guidelines in push to bring NHL postseason to Edmonton
EDMONTON — Alberta is developing public-health guidelines to allow Edmonton to potentially become a National Hockey League hub city, the province’s top doctor said Wednesday.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, said that while nothing is set in stone, concepts like cohort groups could be incorporated to allow players from multiple NHL teams to quarantine together after arriving in Alberta.
“Safety must be the top priority,” Hinshaw said. “In order to make this happen, all levels of government and the NHL will have to collaborate to find creative solutions.
“The guidelines we have put in place we feel would adequately address the safety of Albertans as well as being considerate of the opportunity for sporting events, which we know Albertans enjoy, to take place. I want to be clear that we’re not talking about waiving the quarantine requirements.”
On Tuesday, the NHL detailed its plan to resume season, with Edmonton among 10 cities named by commissioner Gary Bettman as under consideration to cohost the 24-team postseason that could begin as soon as late July.
However, Bettman said Edmonton — along with fellow Canadian contenders Vancouver and Toronto — could be eliminated from consideration if Canada doesn’t exempt NHL personnel from rules restricting border crossings.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dated Tuesday asking the country to exempt foreign professional athletes, staff and league leadership from travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus. Currently, international travel to Canada is restricted to residents of Canada and trips deemed essential. A 14-day self-isolation for new arrivals is mandatory.
Hinshaw said that teams arriving in Alberta would theoretically isolate amongst themselves or with another team during this period and would not have any contact with the rest of the community.
The province’s guidelines state that games should not begin until the quarantine period is over.
In his letter, Kenney boasted that Edmonton’s COVID-19 rates are among the lowest in North American cities of similar population size and density and said the city is averaging only one new coronavirus case each day. Alberta’s capital currently has 52 of the province’s 679 active cases.
Alberta’s courting of the NHL varies from their neighbours to the west. When asked Tuesday whether officials in British Columbia would consider making an exception for the NHL, the province’s health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said the league would get no special treatment.
“I would love to have hockey,” Henry said. “(But) we’re not bending the rules in any way that would put what we’ve achieved here in B.C. at risk.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday that players can expect to be tested for COVID-19 daily once play resumes, only being allowed to leave their hotel rooms each morning after receiving a negative test.
To accommodate the potential testing demand, Hinshaw said Alberta has been working with private labs to allow companies to perform testing that goes beyond public-health recommendations.
If there were shortages in lab supplies in the province, they would be prioritized for public-health use. Otherwise, private labs could purchase tests for use on NHL personnel. Currently, Alberta has the capacity to test 7,000 people each day, with that capacity expected to climb to 16,000 tests per day in June.
If a player did test positive, Hinshaw said, Alberta Health Services would proceed as it would with any other case, identifying close contacts and then determining quarantine requirements for those contacts.
All close contacts would have to quarantine, but Hinshaw said details about what the quarantine will look like haven’t yet been discussed, suggesting that teams could continue to isolate as part of a cohort.
Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Wednesday the team wants to act within public-health regulations when they make their return.
“Nobody is going to try and get around any regulations. The league is, right now, looking at ways to work within the guidelines or maybe expand the guidelines,” Treliving said. “You’re not getting around any policies, but you’re going to a place that we think is very safe and controlled and it’s only our people that are there.
“Certainly, we don’t want to be in a position where we’re jumping the queue here. That’s not the intent at all. Nor do we think that’s what’s going to happen.”
In 2009, the Flames organization and AHS both came under fire after it was learned that the team’s players received H1N1 vaccinations at a private clinic set up by AHS while requests for private clinics from other groups, including seniors homes, were shot down.
The Calgary Flames are slated to face off against the Winnipeg Jets in the preliminary play-in round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.