The Ottawa Senators said four more members of the organization who were part of their California road trip in March tested positive for COVID-19, though they have recovered.
The Senators previously said two of their players had tested positive. The only other known coronavirus cases among NHL players are two members of the Colorado Avalanche.
“Members of the team and staff self-isolated on Friday, March 13, and are all doing well,” the Senators said in a statement. “All test results have now been received, and all those who tested positive have recovered.”
The Senators played games in San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles before the NHL’s season was paused on March 12. On Tuesday, Sharks president Jonathan Becher defended his team’s decisions to host games in March, despite Santa Clara County issuing a recommendation on March 5 that mass gatherings should be postponed or canceled to control the spread of the coronavirus.
“Early March felt a lot different than we are today and we were all making the best decision we could with the information we had at the time,” Becher said.
The NHL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, said last week that the NHL was “fortunate in making the decision on March 12 to not only pause play, but actually have players go into self-quarantine, including staff and coaches.”
The NHL has allowed players and staff members to leave their playing cities, though they are now being instructed to self-isolate until at least April 15.