(Reuters) – The NHL has banned its employees from overseas business travel while it monitors the spreading coronavirus outbreak, Commissioner Gary Bettman said on Wednesday.
Bettman, speaking on the final day of the NHL general managers meetings in Florida, said those who make personal trips to affected countries will be quarantined out of the office for two weeks upon their return to see if symptoms arise.
“What we can do is take it a day at a time and see what the experts in the field are telling us,” Bettman said in a report on the NHL’s website.
The coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has spread around the world, with more new cases now appearing outside China than inside.
With about a month to go before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, Bettman was asked about any contingency plans following reports the NHL has not ruled out options such as postponing or cancelling games, or playing games in empty arenas.
“We’re aware of and focused on all possibilities, but at this point it would be premature to pick any one of the possibilities, especially because it may or may not become necessary in North America,” Bettman said.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto)
