MILAN (AP) — It’s game on for Finland and Switzerland at the Milan Cortina Games women’s hockey tournament on Saturday despite both nations dealing with a stomach virus affecting its players.
“Finland plays today,” team spokeswoman Henna Malmberg wrote in a text to The Associated Press.
Finland’s outing against the U.S. will be the nation’s tournament opener after its game against Canada on Thursday was postponed to Feb. 12. The postponement came as a result of Finland having 13 of its 23 players in quarantine because of a norovirus that began affecting the team on Tuesday night.
Malmberg’s message comes a day after Finland coach Tero Lehtera said his team was going to play the U.S. no matter what following a practice in which only nine players were absent.
Malmberg had no update on how many players would be available.
Team Switzerland, meantime, also announced it was preparing to play Canada, a day after revealing it had one player test positive for the norovirus. Switzerland opened with a 4-3 shootout win over Czechia on Friday.
The entire Swiss team spent Friday night in isolation and skipped the opening ceremony.
“The incubation period has now passed,” Switzerland’s chief medical officer Hanspeter Betschart said in a statement. “From a medical perspective, there are currently no concerns about the game taking place, provided no further players show symptoms.”
The team did not reveal which player was affected. Switzerland held a practice skate as scheduled Saturday. Six skaters and two goalies practiced in what the team said was an optional session.
Olympic organizers played down the significance of the virus cases.
“It is not (an outbreak). Let’s not start to make a point about what is currently five athletes being dealt with," Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said Saturday. “Proper protocols, really well done.”
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the IOC's medical director Jane Thornton sees no reason to suspect that the cases on the two teams are related.
AP Sports Writers James Ellingworth and Graham Dunbar in Milan contributed to this report.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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