Topline
Thirty two at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are currently under isolation at designated facilities after testing positive for Covid-19, the Games’ organizers announced on Tuesday, a disclosure that follows complaints of poor living conditions faced by several quarantined athletes.
Healthcare workers are seen during women’s 3000m speed skating race during the Beijing 2022 Winter … [+]
Key Facts
The Olympics’ organizers are attempting to allow as many people out of isolation as safely possible Brian McCloskey, the event’s top medical expert said.
He added that so far 50 athletes have been discharged from isolation and a “vast majority” of the isolated individuals do not require any medical treatment.
McCloskey said that everyone in the Olympic bubble is being tested regularly and nearly everyone has been vaccinated which makes the chance of catching Covid in the bubble “less than anywhere else in the world.”
Despite this some athletes have tested positive and McCloskey said the organizers are doing their best to distinguish between people who continue testing positive intermittently for a long time despite not being contagious and those who have been re-infected and capable of spreading the virus.
Key Background
Earlier this week, representatives from several participating nations at the Beijing Olympics raised alarm about the inhumane conditions faced by quarantined athletes. On Sunday, the head coach of Finland’s men’s ice hockey team accused the organizers of not respecting the human rights of one of the team’s players who was in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. The coach alleged that the player Marko Anttila was “not getting food” and was under immense stress. The Finnish team doctor added that Anttila was being forced to remain in isolation despite testing positive 18 days ago and no longer being considered infectious. On Saturday, another isolated athlete, German skier Eric Frenzel had complained about the lack of cleanliness, poor food and insufficient WiFi at the isolation facility. Belgian Skeleton racer Kim Meylemans had also posted a tearful video on her Instagram on Wednesday when she was moved to a second isolation facility after initially being cleared from the event’s Covid protocols.
Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/02/08/beijing-winter-olympics-32-athletes-are-in-isolation-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19/