The Latest: Virus Pops 6 Challenger Tennis Events In Canada

The latest on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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Six Challenger tennis tournaments scheduled for Canada this year have been canceled due to the pandemic.

Tennis Canada said Friday that the events are: the Winnipeg (Manitoba) Men’s National Bank Challenger; the Women’s Challenger Event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; the National Bank Challenger in Granby, Quebec; and the Odlum Brown VanOpen in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Calgary (Alberta) National Bank Challenger and Women’s Challenger event in Fredericton, New Brunswick will not take place in 2021 after their postponement in October.

So far, Tennis Canada has postponed or canceled 14 challenger events since the beginning of 2020 due to COVID-19, which are one level below the events on the ATP and WTA tours.

Tennis Canada said there are still plans to host Challenger events in Saguenay, Quebec (October 18-24) and Toronto (October 25-31).

The Drummondville (Quebec) National Bank Challenger, originally planned for March 2021, could be played later this year.

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The San Jose Sharks will welcome back a limited number of fans starting April 26 against Arizona.

The Sharks say fans with proof of vaccination or a negative test for COVID-19 will be allowed to play the games for the remainder of the season.

Tickets are sold in pods with two to four seats with space between the individual groups. Fans must wear masks when not actively eating or drinking in certain areas and are not allowed to bring bags into the games.

The team will conduct a test run on April 24th with family members of players and staff approved to play against Minnesota.

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Three Colorado Avalanche games have been postponed after a third player entered the NHL’s COVID-19 logs on Friday.

In anticipation of the test results, the team could return to training on Wednesday and play again on Thursday in St. Louis.

The Avalanche was supposed to host the Los Angeles Kings on Friday and Sunday. You should be playing in St. Louis on Tuesday.

The NHL has also postponed two games between the Vancouver and Toronto Maple Leafs as the Canucks return from a COVID-19 outbreak. The Leafs were scheduled to play in Vancouver on Saturday and Monday, but the league said games had been postponed for Sunday and Tuesday.

The Canucks have postponed 11 games since the outbreak late last month. At least 21 players and four coaches have tested positive for the virus.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Thursday that some players have not yet received the medical clearance required to return to the ice.

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Three major league players and three employees took 11,713 tests positive for COVID-19 in the past week, a positive rate of 0.05%.

There were 31 positive tests – 20 for players, 11 for staff – among 111,312 surveillance tests, a rate of 0.03%, the commissioner’s office said Friday. The positive tests were among 17 of the 30 teams.

There have been three COVID-related shifts, all a season opening series between Washington and the New York Mets.

In the final numbers released last year, MLB said they collected 172,740 samples and 91 were positive or 0.05%. Fifty-seven out of 91 positives were players, and 21 of the 30 teams had an individual for whom the surveillance test was positive.

There were 45 regular season games that were postponed last year due to virus-related reasons, but only two weren’t invented between St. Louis and Detroit.

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