The IIHF says no players, staff or game officials have tested positive for COVID-19 in its latest round of testing inside the World Junior Hockey Championship Edmonton bubble.
The seven-day preliminary round for the tournament concluded on Thursday. In all, 9,629 tests have been done so far.
The two teams eliminated from the tournament — Austria and Switzerland — will remain in the bubble until their scheduled flights home.
The tournament has remained COVID-19 free since it began on Christmas Day, a major success considering the impact the virus made before the tournament began. At least six teams had to cut players before travelling to Edmonton due to positive COVID-19 tests and Sweden was forced to replace a large part of their coaching staff. Upon arriving in Edmonton, Germany had eight players test positive and Sweden had two non-players test positive. There have been no other positive tests since.
The eight remaining teams will return to the ice Saturday for quarterfinal play, with the semifinals following Monday and the medal games scheduled for Tuesday.
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