NHL revises virus protocols; Colorado is 5th team shut down
New York Rangers coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers stands behind the bench during the team's NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in New York. (Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via AP)The NHL revised its virus protocols in a bid to keep the shortened season on track, but not before a fifth team was idled by COVID-19 problems. Hours after the league announced changes visible in arenas and important behind the scenes, Colorado joined the growing list of U.S.-based teams shut down for virus concerns. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog joined teammate Tyson Jost on the league's COVID-19 unavailable list Thursday. Bettman said fewer than half the players in protocol have been because of a confirmed positive test and many of those were asymptomatic.
Loss of smell, taste ‘reliable’ indicator of COVID-19 infection, study finds
A new study out of the U.K. finds that loss of smell or taste is a “highly reliable” indicator that someone has contracted COVID-19. But after contracting COVID-19, Fletcher experienced difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and lost his sense of smell and taste. According to Justin Turner, a doctor and medical director of Vanderbilt University’s Smell and Taste Center, about 50%-70% of patients with COVID-19 will lose part or all of their sense of smell and/or taste. Turner says for up to 25% of COVID-19 patients, the loss of smell and taste could be the first -- and sometimes only -- sign of infection. The loss of smell and taste can linger for months following a COVID-19 infection; it’s often the last symptom to resolve.