The Montreal Canadiens Will Have No Fans In The Bell Centre Tonight As COVID-19 Cases Rise
Omicron 1, Habs Fans 0
It's déja vu. The Montreal Canadiens announced that following a public health request, they will have no fans in the Bell Centre for their Thursday, December 16 game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"Faced with the spiralling rise of COVID-19 cases in the region, late this afternoon the Montreal Canadiens organization received a request from Quebec public health officials to host tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers in a closed setting with no fans in attendance at the Bell Centre," the team said in a press release.
Update regarding Flyers-Canadiens gamehttps://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/update-regarding-flyers-canadiens-game/c-329064072?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=CHCcontent&utm_content=EN-1216-BellCentre-Announcement\u00a0\u2026— Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@Canadiens Montr\u00e9al) 1639692378
The announcement was made only two hours before the game against the Flyers was scheduled to begin. The team says it will directly contact fans with tickets.
"We have accepted this request in order to help ensure the safety and security of our fans and fellow citizens throughout our community," the team's statement continued. "An update on the status of Saturday's scheduled game against the Boston Bruins will be provided tomorrow."
The team confirmed that it'll be able to host fans in a "partial capacity scenario" in January after obtaining assurance from provincial health officials.
More details will be released in the coming days.
"In the interim, we would continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated, get their booster shots when possible, and be responsible with their social and family gatherings throughout the holidays," the team added.
"We hope that with rigour and a collective effort from all of us, we will be able to come together in a near future in 2022."