The effects of COVID-19 have been far-reaching, and many of its effects have been noticed within the field of sports.

For the past several months, Winkler born hokey player Eric Fehr has been playing in Geneva, Switzerland, for Genève-Servette HC of the National League. With borders closing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, Fehr and family rushed home and are now in 14-day self-quarantine as of government recommendations for international travel.

Eric, his wife Rachel and their children Elizabeth, Benjamin and Theodore left Switzerland shortly after the 2019-2020 Swiss National Hockey League season was cancelled because of COVID-19.

It's now an opportunity to reacquaint with home and each other, says Fehr. However, the biggest struggle is the jet lag, and the kids have been feeling under the weather.

"It's been not too bad, as we haven't been home, and we have the stuff we want to unpack and organize the house and everything. Everyone is still in good spirits. We've got a little bit of a cough, and the kids have had a few fevers, so you panic in the back of your mind; maybe we have something, but you never really know. The kids are doing well with everything, and we're just trying to stay healthy."

Fehr says they're trying to keep a routine for the kids, having them do homework, take part in yoga, and get them active mentally and physically. As for the hockey season's early end, Fehr says it was frustrating as he and the rest of the team were excited to take part in the playoffs.

"Our team did well. We overachieved in the regular season, and we were hoping to see how far we could take it in the playoffs. See if we could make a good run at it. For my family, we all had our playoff shirts made up. Everybody on the team had playoff shirts, and we were excited to start playoff hockey. Things changed pretty quickly with the virus spreading."

"For the players that were from Switzerland, a lot of them just didn't know what to do with themselves," adds Fehr. "They're used to playing in this league, and they're used to the playoffs happening. They were preparing for that. The North Americans, we had to shift our mindset pretty quick to find a way to get back home and getting out of that area before it got even worse."

He saw this coming, says Fehr, and had begun preparations for the family's return to Canada, and once the decision to cancel was made, he says they hustled to return before things turned for the worse in Europe.

It took three days to get a flight, and during that time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the closure of borders and Canadians should make their way home. "There was a lot of tension in the house," says Fehr, "trying to beat the clock before things began to close down."

He adds he's happy to be home and encouraged by the support he and his family have received from fans, not only during their frantic trip back home but also his life and hockey career.