RED DEER, Alberta ( Associated Press) – The United States was forced to abandon its game at the World Junior Championships against Switzerland on Tuesday after two players tested positive for the coronavirus.
Those positive COVID-19 test results led to a mandatory team quarantine. As a result, America was unable to play on Tuesday under the rules of the tournament.
“We are extremely disappointed, especially for our players,” John VanBiesbruck, general manager of the US national junior team, said in a statement. “We are handling an ever-changing landscape, and it is very challenging. We have followed the protocol of the tournament from the outside and we will continue to do everything possible to ensure that players have the opportunity to compete in the World Junior Championships. Get opportunities
The International Ice Hockey Federation said the team’s quarantine status would be evaluated later to determine the status of the Americans’ next game against Sweden on Wednesday. Switzerland were awarded a 1–0 victory over America by forfeiture.
The United States is the defending champion in the tournament for the world’s best men’s hockey players under the age of 20. The United States defeated Slovakia 3-0 in their first preliminary round game on Sunday night.
According to the IIHF, teams traveling to Canada were quarantined for two days after their December 15 arrival with more than 5,800 tests conducted on 462 players, staff and sports officials before the tournament’s opening on Sunday.
A Finnish player tested positive and was placed in isolation, affecting no one else on the team. Two sports officials have been isolated after testing positive during quarantine.
A Swiss player who tested positive canceled the Swiss-Czechia pre-tournament game. An Austrian player who tested positive placed that team under quarantine until contact tracing was completed and the team was allowed to play its first game against Finland on Monday.
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US loses world junior game after 2 players test positive 2021-12-29 03:46:06 comes via ChinaTechNews.com.