Photo: Vincent Zhou/instagram
Thirty-two Olympic athletes are currently in isolation in Beijing after testing positive for COVID, officials confirmed, amidconcerns over quarantine conditions.
“The number of cases inside the closed loop is going down, and the number of cases at the airport is zero at the moment,” McCloskey said.
Olympic organizers have implemented “a closed loop” to help keepcompetitorsand personnel away from the public to mitigate the spread of COVID.
“I think your chance of picking up COVID in the closed loop is less than anywhere else in the world,” McCloskey said.
“We are seeing it devolve as we expected it to do, and we now still believe that the situation inside the closed loop is extremely safe,” he added. “There is no sign of spread of infection and certainly no sign of infection spreading outside the closed loop.”
More than 50 athletes have already been discharged from isolation after receiving positive COVID tests since the start of the games. The average stay in quarantine is seven days,TIMEreported.
“We will allow as many people out of isolation as we can, but only as many as we can do safely,” McCloskey explained during the press conference.
Since they started testing on Jan. 23, there have been 159 confirmed positive cases among athletes and team officials, according toCBS News.
USA Team figure skaterVincent Zhoubecame the latest athlete to receive a positive COVID test and announced his withdrawal from competition on Monday.
The COVID isolation update comes after Olympic athletes haveexpressed concernsover conditions in quarantine hotels.
Competitors who test positive for COVID are isolated in buildings separate from the Olympics bubble to avoid further transmission of the virus. However, some facilities lack proper living conditions, from the food served to the absence of training equipment, according to some individuals.
Additionally, some athletes with COVID-19 were reportedly allowed to remain in the Olympic Village while others were removed from the bubble, according to theAssociated Press.
Russian Olympic Committee biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova said it was “impossible” to eat the food on her tray — including plain pasta, an orange-colored sauce, a cut of burned meat left on the bone, and some potatoes — which she shared on Instagram Thursday.
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“My stomach hurts, I’m very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end,” Vasnetsova said in the post, per the AP. “I cry every day. I’m very tired.”
She also claimed to have lost weight to the point where “my bones are already sticking out,” the AP reported.
“Our main objective has always been to ensure that any isolation period is undertaken in the best conditions possible and that the athletes, in particular, can receive not only suitable food, but also training equipment, in line with their needs,” they added.
source: people.com
