Canada Shuts Down World Juniors Camp Due to Covid-19 Outbreak

Hockey Canada has been forced to shut down Team Canada's World Juniors camp after two players have tested positive for Covid-19.

There was supposed to be a red vs white scrimmage on Tuesday and after the tests came back positive, they had no other option but to shut things down for now.

Hockey Canada has postponed activity at the #WorldJuniors selection camp in Red Deer, Alberta after two players tested positive for COVID-19.

What do you think this means for the tournament set to take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton from Dec. 25, 2020 – Jan. 5, 2021? pic.twitter.com/T1vvVKyeOL

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) November 24, 2020

The tournament which is supposed to be held over the Christmas holidays and into the new year, much like every other year will now be facing an uphill battle to operate its bubble.

Hockey Canada had this to say in their statement regarding the positive tests:

Hockey Canada confirmed earlier today that two players at Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp have tested positive for COVID-19, and have been placed in quarantine at the team hotel in Red Deer.

Upon learning of the positive test this morning, the decision was made to postpone the Red-White game scheduled for this morning at the Westerner Park Centrium, and to suspend all camp activities for today. As per Hockey Canada’s safety protocols, all players, coaches and staff members took mandatory COVID-19 tests upon arrival at camp and have continued to be tested regularly throughout the past ten days. For precautionary reasons, we will also ensure that all players and team personnel go through an additional test before resuming camp activities. The appropriate local and provincial health authorities have been made aware of the situation, and we will continue to work closely with Alberta Health Services. We will have no further comment at this time.

We wish everyone a speedy recovery and hope we can enjoy junior hockey's best players this holiday season!

Photo credit: John Crouch/Icon Sportswire