Name: B.C. Premier Horgan: NHL would bear cost of COVID-19 testing - Sportsnet.ca
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B.C. Premier Horgan: NHL would bear cost of COVID-19 testing - Sportsnet.ca

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We use cookies to improve your experience. or change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.We use cookies () You can change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.B.C. Premier John Horgan spoke about offering Vancouver as a "hub city" to the NHL in the event the season returns, and his plans for professional sports in general across the province.John Horgan spoke with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week about the idea of Vancouver being a potential hub city destination if and when hockey returns this summer.The Premier of British Columbia expounded on some hub city hypotheticals, including COVID-19 testing, during a Thursday appearance on .“I’m very excited about the prospect of Vancouver being a hub city,” said Horgan, who explained the had reached out to his office and have been in contact with Lisa Beare, the province’s minister of tourism, arts and culture which includes sports.“Gary Bettman was very gracious. We had a good chat. We’ve also reached out to the NHLPA and they were happy to hear from us as well, so we’re pretty excited but we’ll see how it goes.”One key health and safety issue in any major sports league returning to competition will be the availability of testing.“The testing costs would certainly be borne by the NHL, but the capacity to do the tests, we certainly have it here in B.C.,” Horgan explained. “As it’s developing around the world, there wasn’t a lot of testing in place three months ago and now everybody’s testing. I don’t think that’s an issue at this point. That was a concern six weeks ago. It’s less of a concern now. It’ll be less of a concern six weeks from now.”&nbsp;John Horgan on B.C. potentially hosting the remainder of NHL's 2019-20 seasonYour browser does not support the audio element.ShareAs of Thursday, there had been 2,376 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C., compared to more than 20,000 in Ontario and nearly 40,000 in Quebec, according to Statistics Canada.“We have done a good job here. The curve is flattening,” Horgan said. “We’ve done better than other provinces in terms of making sure that people are safe. So, when the NHL looks at the numbers across the country within Canada, we’re looking pretty good.”In addition to the Canucks being in contact with Beare, Horgan said he has spoken with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and federal minister of health Adrian Dix about the prospect of Vancouver being an NHL hub city.Horgan said Henry “believes we could take measures with respect to social distancing” that would potentially include: having the backup goaltenders sitting in the stands; spacing out the players as much as possible; and having assistant coaches, trainers and medical personnel use the rows behind the benches opposed to being in close proximity to the players during games.“I think there’s universal support for the idea,” Horgan said. “The challenge, of course, is always in the delivery.”The NHL has for what a potential host city would require, one of which is accommodations, and Vancouver ticks many boxes.“We have surplus hotel capacity, obviously with international travel suspended,” said Horgan, who added Bettman was aware of the province’s 14-day isolation policy for people coming into B.C., from overseas or any international travel.“Players bringing their families to British Columbia is not the worst way to spend your summer, so I think there’s a lot that commends Vancouver and B.C., to a restart of the 2019-20 season.”: “I believe that if the right time comes, and the right circumstances, based on all of the options that we’re considering and our ability to execute them, we’ll get this season done. … States are re-opening, cities are re-opening. And if we do the right things, I think we’ll be able to finish the season.”More from SportsnetWhen submitting content, please abide by our , and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.DoneNoneDoneNoneWould you like to create an account so you can see these Favourites on your other devices too?&nbsp;Customize your Sportsnet lineup for the latest news from your favourite leagues and teams.Customize your lineup with your favourite leagues and teams.EditThere isn’t enough recent news in your lineup. We’ll give you the latest news when it becomes available, or feel free to add some more selections to .375 Comments116 Comments161 Comments165 Comments134 Comments

We use cookies to improve your experience. or change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.We use cookies () You can change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.B.C. Premier John Horgan spoke about offering Vancouver as a "hub city" to the NHL in the event the season returns, and his plans for professional sports in general across the province.John Horgan spoke with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week about the idea of Vancouver being a potential hub city destination if and...

B.C. Premier Horgan: NHL would bear cost of COVID-19 testing - Sportsnet.ca

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