NHL Changes COVID Protocols, Isolation Period

After the CDC recently updated and shortened recommended isolation periods in the U.S., some sports leagues have followed suit. While there has been plenty of discussion about whether the NHL would be able to since some of their teams reside in Canada, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the league has done just that.

Provided it is allowed by local health authorities, the isolation period has been shortened to five days for vaccinated players and staff. In the release, it explains the process that it will now use for a confirmed positive case of COVID-19:

• Isolate for 5 days.
• If you have a fever, continue to isolate until your fever resolves.
• If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave isolation:
  i. after a lab-based PCR test that is negative or that has a CT value >30, or two negative molecular point of care tests collected >2 hours apart
  AND
  ii. medical clearance from your Club physician
  AND
  iii. providing such an exit is permitted by your local health authority
• You shall continue to always wear a mask around others for 5 additional days, other than for practices and games
• All other aspects of the Protocol apply, including the criteria for cardiac screening.

The league will re-evaluate these new measures in 14 days, but for now, it could drastically affect the number of games missed by positive cases that experience mild symptoms. Players will still need to test negative to get out of the protocol–something that is different than the NFL, for instance–but there’s at least a chance that they return earlier than previously expected.

Of note, this does not appear to be in effect for Canadian teams or change the 14-day travel restrictions for players who have tested positive. If they have tested positive, they would not be able to accompany their team to Canada for the following two weeks even if they have left the league’s shortened protocol.