Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

NHL to shorten quarantine for players following positive COVID-19 test

The NHL and NHL Players' Association have agreed to shorten the isolation period for players who test positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to five days if they produce a negative and are asymptomatic, multiple sources reported Wednesday.

In a memo released on Wednesday, the league said players who exit the protocol after five days must still wear a mask in team facilities for an additional five days after.

One caveat in the new ruling is that local health officials have to sign off on it, ESPN summarized. While the NFL and NBA have gone through similar steps in recent weeks to shorten isolation times for athletes, the NHL will have a potentially more difficult time because it has seven teams based in Canada where the required isolation period is still 10 days.

The league was still postponing games after operations resumed this week due to travel and crowd restrictions north of the border.

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