The Calgary Flames have already begun taking precautionary measures to do their part in protecting the health of their players against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
While hand-sanitizing stations and ‘Wash Your Hands’ signs have begun appearing all over the Scotiabank Saddledome, including its underbelly where the home and visiting teams dressing rooms are situated, the National Hockey League issued an edict to all 31 teams to close dressing rooms to media on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control.
For the Flames, that meant conducting interviews following Saturday’s practice in front of the team’s backdrop outside of their dressing room rather than inside of it. Elsewhere including Carolina and Minnesota, other NHL teams were doing the same.
“Everyone’s concerned, right?” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “We’ve seen how this virus has spread and I’m sure the league is going to do everything in its’ power to take every precaution. I think, as players, we’ve just gotta be aware of it and take care of ourselves.
“Eat well, get your proper, keep your immune system up and hopefully as an entire world, we can find a way to eliminate this thing. It’s concerning for everyone and we’re very aware of what’s going on. Our doctors have kept us really informed.”
On Saturday, the Flames were debriefed by their medical staff and general manager Brad Treliving and were able to ask questions about COVID-19 — a quickly evolving situation that has affected many professional sports around the world, including hockey.
“The league has given us some steps and you’re taking your own steps to take every precaution necessary,” Treliving said. “It starts with, No. 1., recognizing it’s a very low risk. But you want to be very conscious of what’s going on and take steps to protect your players, ultimately our fans and those types of things. We are educating the players and passing along league mandates they’ve given us and, also, have our doctors talk to them.
“You hear a lot in the media. It’s separating fact from fiction.”
According to the World Health Organization, people can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus, spreading from person-to-person through small droplets from the nose or mouth spreading when a person coughs or exhales.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the conclusion of last week’s general managers meetings that the NHL is communicating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with Health Canada.
And, over the weekend, the NHL also sent out a memo to teams urging players to limit contact with fans because of the spread of the disease.
“They’ve been putting up sheets around the rink, hand sanitizers at your disposal, washing your hands all the time,” said Flames goaltender Cam Talbot. “All of those little things you can do to help prevent it. It is tough when fans are looking forward to something like that, but hopefully they understand the other side of it at this point.”
The IIHF has cancelled six under-18 tournaments in Europe in March. Switzerland’s National League postponed its playoffs until March 15 after the Swiss government banned events with more than 1,000 spectators. The International Ice Hockey Federation cancelled the 2020 women’s world championships in Halifax and Truro, N.S., amid COVID-19 concerns. The tournament was supposed to run from March 31 to April 10.
As of Saturday afternoon, the risk in Alberta remains low. There have been two presumptive cases in this province and 54 cases across Canada.
However, the nature of professional sports means that many people are working in close proximity to the players.
Local and visiting media, productions crews, staff, support staff, and security are often buzzing around the Scotiabank Saddledome on a game day. Often, family, friends, and fans are seen outside of the dressing rooms on a game day.
NHL teams fly privately around North America, so risks are limited. Commissioner Bettman issued a statement barring League employees from overseas business travel and, independently, each team is making its own decisions on overseas business travel.
But everyone, said Treliving, needs to be educated.
“It’s a little bit unique wth the travel we do … but you’re conscious of it,” Treliving said. “There shouldn’t be hysteria around it but, it’s like anything else, you live smartly and a lot of the steps we take is basic stuff, limiting contact, like making sure you’re washing your hands … but you take a little extra precaution.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
