Inside (the bubble) Scoop: Allow Extra Time

Less than one day into their stay inside their Hub City of Toronto, Pittsburgh Penguins players and staff members learned an important lesson: allow a couple of extra minutes when you want to leave the hotel.

In a pre-COVID-19 world, players could easily pour a last-minute coffee in the meal room at 9:55 AM, grab the elevator to the first floor and be seated on the bus with time to spare before the prompt 10:00 AM departure to the rink. Nowadays, they have to begin that routine at least five minutes earlier, if not sooner, or they'll risk missing the bus.

Here in Toronto, before anyone can exit the hotel at any time of day - whether it's to catch the morning bus or to simply take in some fresh air in the evening - there are several important safety protocols that must be adhered to. First up is confirming that you are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, followed quickly by a temperature check, with all of that information loaded within the wellness app all Phase 4 Secure Zone participants are required to log into daily. Once all that is complete, it's time to empty your pockets before stepping through a metal detector.

None of the above is mind-numbing or ultra time-consuming, but issues can arise when the technology fails or if a line forms at the metal detector station. Since walking through the metal detector is like slipping on a pair of flipflops - everybody knows the process - here are some brief insights into the wellness check portion of our new traveling normal.

Each day, all 52 members of a team's travel party must log into their wellness app and take a quick facial recognition selfie before they can begin to record their symptoms. This is pretty straightforward, although sometimes it can take 2-3 takes because you have to be both perfectly centered and have your face the right distance from the camera. If you fail on either account, you look a bit like an Instagram influencer attempting to get the perfect shot in the middle of the lobby.

As soon as the app verifies it's you, there is a nine-question COVID-19 symptom survey. These are pretty standard: do you have a fever, a cough muscle fatigue or have you been exposed to someone with COVID-19 since your last log-in? After you finish the survey, you walk over to the thermometer kiosks where you take your temperature. Just like with the app selfie, you have to make sure your face is centered and your eyes make contact with the camera. Especially at the beginning of the week as everyone adjusted to this new technology, the thermometer checks alone could several minutes per person, although that's gone down significantly as everyone has adjusted.

Once your temperature is recorded, you have to scan the kiosk with your phone and match the bar codes. This is how you find out if you're green or red. If your app turns green, you're all set to head outside. However, if it turns red, you must turn around and walk into the nurses station for further evaluation. This is where the process can quickly add a few extra minutes as the nurses apply additional temperature checks to see if it was a false recording. This has happened to the Pens' travel party a couple of times, but you can't take enough precautions in these times.

You only have to go through the entire symptom check and temperature recording once or twice a day, as each check-in lasts for 12 hours. But you do have to verify yourself within the ap with the selfie several times per day, as you only get about 15 minutes before it times out. If you don't have your phone and you can't show off a green screen surrounding your selfie, you're not allowed to leave. No exceptions.

With each passing day, the wellness check process becomes easier and easier. But since it does involve technology, you still cannot take anything for granted and come last minute. An earlier coffee followed by the steps described above represent very small, but necessary and important elements required to keep the bubble safe and the games on schedule. We're all more than happy to add this accommodation to our daily routines.