Avalanche player tested positive for COVID-19

A bit of a shocker just now: The Avalanche put out a statement saying a player on the team tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. But this story appears to have a happy ending.

Here is the statement:

The Colorado Avalanche were advised today that a player has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.  The player has been at home in isolation since the first symptoms appeared, has recovered and is back to normal. The Avalanche have notified anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete.

  The health and safety of our players, staff, fans, and community remains our highest priority. The Avalanche organization will continue to work in conjunction with our medical staff and public health officials to do everything we can to help the Avalanche community remain safe and healthy during this time.

OK, I know many of you have some questions about this.

Do I know who the player is? No. And I won’t be trying to be Woodward and Bernstein on it. Who cares who it was, really?

When and where did the infection occur? Don’t know. The Avs were in one of the “hot spots” for the virus, though: the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on March 9, the same place where other athletes apparently caught the virus. More on that here.

In the statement, as you can see, it says the Avs have notified anyone who has had known close contact with the athlete.

Was I notified? After all, I was around the team in those final days before things were shut down, including being in Los Angeles and San Jose on the last road trip. No, I wasn’t notified.

Have the rest of Avalanche players been tested? I don’t know yet.

Obviously, it’s good news that the player has already recovered. This is officially the third NHL player that has been publicly disclosed as having or had the virus. The other two were from the Ottawa Senators. More if it develops…