Alberta's spike in COVID-19 infections and positive cases at Canada's camp pose concerns for the planned world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, according to epidemiologist Ilan Schwartz.
The associate professor at the University of Alberta says it's an ``all-around bad idea'' to bring international hockey teams into the province while its health care system is overwhelmed.
The 10-country tournament is set to start December 25th and s modelled on the same ``bubble'' concept recently used by the N-H-L in Toronto and Edmonton.
But Alberta has had a surge in COVID-19 cases since then, with over 14,000 active cases currently in the province.
Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada's vice-president of events, says stringent protocols and testing will make the world junior championship safe to proceed.
He says international players will be required to test negative in quarantine for seven days before travelling to Canada, and will be quarantined and tested daily for five days after arrival.
with files from (The Canadian Press)