An extremely contagious version of the coronavirus is responsible for 25 players and coaches at the Vancouver Canucks who tested positive for the disease, the team said Wednesday.
The Canucks had six games postponed due to the outbreak, which began just over a week ago, and left players in bed, according to ESPN.
While Vancouver said that complete genome sequencing is performed by local health officials to determine the variant, variant P.1 has recently caused an increase in cases in British Columbia, the province where the team is based.
The variant, which first appeared in Brazil, was responsible for at least 737 of the 2,771 cases of virus detected in the last month, according to local health officials.
Canucks said a “single person” was responsible for the outbreak after being infected in a “community setting that has since been identified as a public display site.”
Adam Gaudette’s positive test on March 30 led to the first postponement of the six Canucks, but it is unclear whether he was the first to contract the virus.
Twenty-one players, including three members of the taxi team and four members of the coaching staff gave positive results, while another player is considered a close contact.
“This is a clear reminder of how quickly the virus can spread and its serious impact, even among healthy young athletes,” the team said in a statement.
Officials in British Columbia closed the indoor restaurant and popular ski resort Whistler until April 19, given the increase in the number of cases.
Variant B117, first detected in the United Kingdom, is also responsible for many of Canada’s coronavirus cases.
While scientists are confident that COVID-19 vaccines will provide protection against variants, Canada has struggled to implement them.
Canada has administered at least one dose of the vaccine to 15% of its population since April 6, according to our website The World in Data in Oxford, which is under world leaders, the United States (about 32%), the Great The United Kingdom (approximately 46%) and Israel (approximately 60%),
Some U.S. players were inoculated, including the Rangers on Wednesday, but Canadian teams may not have access to vaccines until June during the Stanley Cup playoffs, according to the Edmonton Journal.
The seven Canadian hockey teams played in a division exclusively in Canada to eliminate travel between the two countries.