With the Omicron variant running amok in our province, hockey's governing body in the province, Hockey Québec, has made the difficult decision to cancel all hockey games in Quebec — professional and amateur — until January 9.
According to a press release, "The members of Hockey Québec's board of directors have decided to temporarily suspend league games as of today, until January 9, 2022, inclusive. Practices will still be allowed."
"Hockey Québec wishes, with this decision, to participate in the collective effort to curb the spread of the virus, while allowing our youth to stay active."
Hockey Qu\u00e9bec suspend temporairement les matchs jusqu\u2019au 9 janvier 2022 inclusivement. Les entra\u00eenements demeurent permis. \n\nNous souhaitons ainsi participer \u00e0 l\u2019effort collectif pour freiner la propagation du virus, tout en gardant nos jeunes actifs.https://bit.ly/3mjH7ZJ— Hockey Qu\u00e9bec (@Hockey Qu\u00e9bec) 1640092029
Not even our beloved Montreal Canadiens could escape Omicron and its consequences. Three players — Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin — are under the NHL's COVID-19 protocol after showing symptoms.
The team announced over the weekend that all its activities, including team training and all games, have been cancelled or postponed through December 26.
The NHL had already made the decision on December 20 to postpone all cross-border games until the health situation gets under control, as well as to postpone all games and activities for the next five days.
The league and its players have been ravaged by COVID-19 since the Omicron variant was first detected. Like the outside world, the NHL updated its health regulations to meet the challenge and help mitigate the spread of the variant.
Some games in the United States, however, will carry on as scheduled since health regulations in some states aren't as expansive as Canada's.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
