Mount Royal Cougars hockey team faces COVID-19 outbreak with 18 cases

Members of the Mount Royal University Cougarshockey team are in isolation as18have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the university's communicationsdepartment.

The number of casesincludes coaching staff and the players.

In an emailed release Monday,MRU saidthe entire team stopped training when one teammate began feeling symptomatic.

The university said it did its own contact tracing and let people know if they may have come in contact with members of the team.

MRU saidthis is the first known instanceof community spread at the university.

The team had been training while following safety measures, according to MRU.

The Cougars'exhibition games against World Juniors prospects,set for next weekend, had already been cancelled last week by Hockey Canada due to the pandemic.

With new provincial restrictions announced last week, no varsity programs at MRU will be training until next year.