No more positive tests for Sharks; Hertl out
Tomas Hertl remained the only San Jose Sharks player unavailable to play due to the NHL’s COVID protocol, potentially allowing the team to resume practice as soon as Friday and play the St. Louis Blues as scheduled this weekend.
Hertl appeared on the NHL’s COVID-19 list for the second straight day Thursday as the Sharks’ training facility in San Jose remained closed. Players only arrived for testing, as their game Thursday at SAP Center with the Vegas Golden Knights remains postponed to a still unknown date.
The Sharks in a statement Thursday said no additional tests have come back as confirmed positives. If players and staff members continue to test negative, the NHL and the NHLPA have given approval for the Sharks to resume practice Friday. If that happens, Saturday’s game with the Blues will move forward as scheduled.
The Sharks also said the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate, have received no positive test results and are also scheduled to practice Friday and host the Ontario Reign on Saturday at Sharks Ice.
Hertl is just the second Sharks
player to appear on the list this season and the first since the team began to play games Jan. 14. Maxim Letunov, a forward, began the season on the list but was cleared days after and returned to the Barracuda.
The Sharks could be without Hertl’s services for several more days.
Per NHL protocols, if a player tests positive, he enters isolation and the team begins contact tracing. Another test is then taken and if it comes back positive, then it is considered a confirmed positive and contact tracing continues. The player is required to isolate until medical clearance is obtained.
Per Santa Clara County protocols, athletes, personnel, and officials who test positive but do not develop symptoms must remain in isolation for 10 days from the date the specimen was collected for their positive test.
The county’s protocols are more complex for those same individuals who test positive and develop symptoms. First, they may end their isolation 10 days after their symptoms appeared, and, secondly, after 24 hours have passed without a fever with no aid of medications. There also has to have been improvement of all other symptoms.