News
The article is more than 4 years old

7 KHL players have Covid -- Helsinki's Jokerit possibly exposed

The Finnish team won Wednesday's match in a 6-0 shutout, but may have been exposed to coronavirus during the game.

Jokerien tehopuolustaja Mikko Lehtonen iskee 2-0 -maalin
Helsinki's Jokerit played against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in Helsinki on Wednesday evening. Image: Lehtikuva
  • Yle News

Seven players on the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk - which lost 0-6 to Helsinki's Jokerit on Wednesday - have been diagnosed with Covid-19.

There are concerns that Jokerit players risked exposure to coronavirus during Wednesday's match, which was the team's first home game against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

The KHL announced late Thursday night that seven players on the Russian team had tested positive for coronavirus earlier that day, as they arrived in the Latvian capital for a match on Friday against Dinamo Riga. However the game was cancelled and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk were said to be headed to St. Petersburg, Russia for further testing.

The Russian team came to Helsinki with a heavily-reduced group of teammates, after several players had flu-like symptoms. The team previously reported two Covid-19 cases on August 21.

Following the 0-6 loss, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk flew straight to Riga.

According to the league's game programme, Jokerit were scheduled to play against Ak Bars Kazan in Helsinki on Friday evening.

However, due to the exposure risk, the match was postponed. A Jokerit news release said that the entire team was tested for coronavirus on Thursday and that all results turned out negative.

However, since they may have been exposed to the virus, the team's players have been quarantined for two weeks.

Edited at 13:13 to reflect that the team was quarantined for two weeks, resulting in the postponement of Friday night's match agains Ak Bars.