Norovirus outbreak forces Swiss women's Olympic hockey team into isolation ahead of Canada game

The Milan Olympics hockey tournament descended into chaos Friday when Switzerland confirmed a player on its women's team tested positive for norovirus following a 4-3 comeback victory over the Czech Republic. The entire roster was immediately placed in isolation as a precautionary measure.

The timing could not be worse for Switzerland, which is scheduled to face Canada on Saturday at 9:10 PM local time. The Swiss team was forced to skip Friday's opening ceremony while medical staff worked to contain the virus and prevent further spread throughout the Olympic Village.

Switzerland is trying to get this situation in control before their face-off against Canada

According to a statement from the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, the affected player had been housed in a single room since arriving at the Olympic Village on Monday and was isolated from teammates once symptoms appeared.

The player did not compete in Friday's game against the Czech Republic and has been symptom-free since Friday morning. No other Swiss players are currently showing symptoms, but the decision to isolate the entire team reflects the highly contagious nature of norovirus and the close quarters of Olympic housing.

Switzerland becomes the second hockey team struck by the outbreak. Finland's women's team was hit earlier in the week, forcing the postponement of their opening game against Canada that was originally scheduled for Thursday.

Finland coach Tero Lehträ learned some players were sick Tuesday evening and canceled Wednesday's practice. By Thursday morning, only 10 players were available for the pre-game skate, while 13 others remained quarantined in the athletes' village.

The Finland-Canada game has been rescheduled for February 12 at 2:30 PM local time. Dr. Nitin Mohan, an infectious disease expert and assistant professor at Western University, explained why the virus spreads so rapidly in Olympic settings.

"A line that I like to tell my students is that norovirus is a sprinter of infectious diseases," Mohan said. "It's fast, explosive, and hard to contain. In a situation like the Olympic Village, where there are close quarters, it's almost an ideal situation for this virus to proliferate the way it has."

Canada has yet to make its Olympic debut after the Finland postponement. The team now faces uncertainty about whether Saturday's game against Switzerland will proceed as scheduled.

Finland is set to play the United States on Saturday at 4:40 PM local time after getting 14 skaters back on the ice Friday. Lehträ confirmed his team will play no matter what, though teams will be notified by 11 AM if anything changes.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the league is monitoring the situation closely as the men's tournament approaches next week, with players like David Pastrnak and Leon Draisaitl already in Milan serving as flag bearers during Friday's opening ceremony.


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