MILAN — The entire Swiss women’s hockey team is in isolation “as a precaution” after a player was diagnosed with norovirus, according to a statement from the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation on Friday.
Switzerland is scheduled to play Team Canada on Saturday at 9:10 p.m. local time. The Canadian women have yet to make their Olympic debut after their opening game against Finland was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak on the Finnish team.
According to the Swiss statement, the player’s “positive test” came back after Friday’s 4-3 comeback win over the Czech Republic and shortly before the Olympic opening ceremony. A representative from the Swiss team confirmed to The Athletic that the affected player did not play in the Friday afternoon game.
The statement continued: “The affected athlete had been housed in a single room since arriving at the Olympic Village on Monday, February 2, 2026, and isolated from the team since the onset of symptoms.”
A representative from Switzerland did not disclose when the player first displayed symptoms, but said she has been symptom-free since this morning.
As a precaution, the women’s national team was isolated after the game “in close consultation with the on-site medical team and after consulting with experts,” the statement said.
“Therefore, it was decided that the women’s national team will not participate in today’s opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. So far, no other Swiss players are showing symptoms.”
The norovirus is common but highly contagious, and according to Dr. Nitin Mohan, an infectious disease expert, it doesn’t take much for the virus to spread.
“A line that I like to tell my students is that norovirus is a sprinter of infectious diseases. It’s fast, explosive, and hard to contain,” said Mohan, who is an assistant professor at Western University in London, Ontario. “In a situation like the Olympic Village where there’s close quarters, it’s almost an ideal situation for this virus to proliferate the way it has.”
The virus began spreading earlier this week; Finland’s coach Tero Lehträ said he learned some players were sick on Tuesday evening and the team’s practice was canceled on Wednesday.
By Thursday morning, Finland only had 10 available players on the ice during a pre-game skate. The team’s 13 other players were quarantined in the athletes’ village, either because they were sick or were exposed to the virus. A postponement quickly followed, with the game rescheduled for Feb. 12 at 2:30 p.m. local time at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
According to the Associated Press, 14 skaters were on the ice Friday afternoon, and Lehträ said, “We will play the USA no matter what.”
As of now, the game between the U.S. and Finland remains scheduled for Saturday at 4:40 p.m. local time. If anything changes, teams will be notified by 11 a.m.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament starts next week, with some NHLers already in Milan. David Pastrnak and Leon Draisaitl served as flag bearers for the Czech Republic and Germany during Friday’s opening ceremony.
“We are monitoring the situation — as is the IIHF, who we are in regular contact with,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in an email to The Athletic.
“At this point in time, I am not aware of any ‘special’ precautions that are planned. I think our Players already have a good understanding of the normal steps to take in order to minimize the risk of transmitted infection.”
—The Athletic’s Michael Russo contributed to this report.
