Second Colorado Avalanche player tests positive for coronavirus

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A second Colorado Avalanche player has tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said Saturday.

The Avalanche said they were informed Friday night and the player, who was not identified, is in self-isolation.

Those who came in close contact with the player have been informed and remain isolated, the team said. No other Avalanche player or staff member has shown symptoms at this time, it said.

The player is the fourth known NHL player to have tested positive for the virus. The other two are with the Ottawa Senators.

The Lightning last played the Senators on Jan. 4 and the Avalanche on Feb. 17.

In addition to the NHL players, two team broadcasters have tested positive.

St. Louis Blues play-by-play announcer John Kelly and Senators color commentator Gord Wilson revealed their test results Friday in separate announcements.

The Blues said in a statement that Kelly was “now feeling strong and symptom free.” Wilson said on Twitter he was in the symptomatic stage.

The Senators and Avalanche played in San Jose on March 7-8, respectively. The Avalanche played the Kings in Los Angeles at the Staples Center on March 9 and the Senators followed March 11. The NHL put its season on hold March 12.

Two days before the March 7 game in San Jose, the Santa Clara County Health Department recommended postponing or canceling mass gatherings because of the coronavirus. On March 9 — and after the county’s first confirmed death connected to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus — the department announced it was implementing a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

As for the Staples Center games, two members of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and four members of the Brooklyn Nets, who also played at Staples Center in the final days before the NBA and NHL put their respective schedules on hold, are known to have tested positive.

The NBA announced it was pausing its season March 11 after one of its players, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, tested positive.

The Blues’ last game before the season stoppage was March 11 in Anaheim.

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