Today’s team walk-through and media availability for the Edmonton Elks have been canceled due to Covid protocols per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.

According to TSN’s Farhan Lalji, there are currently no concerns about this affecting the Elks home opener on Saturday. Players and coaches are still at the team’s facilities which have not been shut down. They will undergo PCR testing as a part of the protocols to determine if any false positives may have led to today’s cancellations.

A policy set in place by the CFL earlier this week declared if a game can’t be played when scheduled and is not capable of being rescheduled due to issues regarding covid, the team responsible will forfeit the game and be credited a loss for the week while the opponent is credited a win with a score of 1-0. If both clubs are suffering from issues regarding covid, then both clubs will forfeit and be credited a loss.

In either of the cases mentioned above, a team that is able to prove 85% of its players have been vaccinated (at least once, preferably twice), the club’s players will receive their salary for the canceled game. If they fall below the 85% mark, the entire team will not receive their salary for that game.

Additionally, the leagues game cancelation policy states a game will be canceled if any of the following occur:

• Its’ playing is precluded by a decision by a government health authority.
• A team does not have 36 players to dress for the game.
• A team does not have an individual available to coach the offence and another individual to coach the defence.
• A team does not have a certified athletic therapist and sports medicine physician available for the game.

The CFL’s commissioner can also cancel a game at his discretion after consulting with the CFLPA and CFL’s chief medical officers.

Edmonton released a statement regarding the situation, which reads:

THE EDMONTON ELKS ARE CONTINUING TO PREPARE FOR TOMORROW’S SCHEDULED HOME OPENER AGAINST THE OTTAWA REDBLACKS. THE TEAM’S WALKTHROUGH SCHEDULED FOR TODAY WAS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 PROTOCOLS, BUT PLAYERS, COACHES, AND STAFF ARE AT THE FACILITY TODAY IN PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW’S GAME.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE NECESSARY STEPS TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR PLAYERS, COACHES, AND STAFF. CURRENTLY WE HAVE NO CONCERN THAT THE GAME WILL NOT BE PLAYED.

FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN AVAILABLE

The Elks face the Redblacks to kick off the season on Saturday, August 7th, at 6 pm PST / 9 pm EST.