The
ice hockey match between the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and Team Canada at the Winter Olympics on
Monday saw players playing the game wearing KN95 masks underneath their hockey
face shields. The group stage match was initially scheduled for 09:40 AM Indian
Standard Time (IST), but it was delayed by an hour since the Canadian hockey
players refused to take the field as they had not received the results of
Russians’ coronavirus tests.

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As
the Beijing Games are being played in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic,
six members of the ROC squad had been placed in isolation last week after
testing positive for the virus.

On
Monday, the ROC skated onto the Wukesong Sports Centre ice for the
introductions but were left standing on the blueline as the Canadians refused to
join them.

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The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not immediately respond to the
incident, but said earlier that the Group A game at Wukesong Sports Centre had
been “delayed until further notice”. There have been 387 positive
cases since January 23 in the bubble, according to official figures.

When
the players returned an hour later both were wearing masks under their helmets.

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The
masks did not affect the Canadians’ performance as they jumped out to a quick
2-0 lead with Sarah Nurse and Sarah Fillier scoring 20 seconds apart.

The
Russian players returned for the third period without their masks, though the
Canadians kept theirs on.  

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The
Associated Press reported that the IOC told the IIHF, the international hockey
federation, that players were required to wear masks due to “safety and
security reasons.”

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Six
Russian players, including captain Olga Sosina, were in COVID-19 isolation and
unable to play in an opening 5-2 win over Switzerland on Friday. Russia had 21
players for a 5-0 loss to the United States on Saturday. Russia issued a
19-player line-up for Monday’s game against Canada.