NHL hopes Canucks can resume team activities by mid-April

The NHL is hopeful the Vancouver Canucks will be cleared to return to the ice by the end of next week, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

Daly added that the league also hopes the Canucks will be able to play out their full 56-game regular-season schedule.

A total of 25 Vancouver team members (21 players and four staffers) have tested positive for COVID-19, and the Canucks recently confirmed a variant of the coronavirus was the source of the outbreak.

All of the affected players are in quarantine, and some are isolating from their families, according to Kaplan.

A large number of the infected players have shown symptoms. Those who tested positive and are symptomatic need to have two negative tests and wait 10 days since the onset of the symptoms.

The Canucks haven't played since March 24. They had a scheduled week off after that game, but their outbreak reportedly began at some point during the hiatus, as the NHL postponed their matchup against the Calgary Flames on March 31 before doing the same with Vancouver's next five contests.

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