New Delhi: COVID-19 has once again made its presence felt at Olympics, three years after Tokyo Games were held under strict health protocols behins closed doors because of a raging pandemic.
At Paris Olympics, the virus has already forced multiple athletes to pull out, leaving others to once again wear masks.
Among the atheletes who have tested positive are Australian swimmer Lani Pallister, who has withdrawn from women’s 1500m freestyle and told to isolate in a room.
But the Australian team has said Pallister could compete in the 4x200m freestyle relay that is slated to begin on Thursday.
British swimmer Adam Peaty has also tested positive after claiming silver in 100m breaststroke event, sharing the second spot with American Nic Fink.
“I’ll now be focusing on a fast, full recovery to give my best in the team relays later in the week,” the 29-year-old Peaty wrote on social media platform Instagram.
Apart from Pallister, several Australia’s women’s polo players have been forced to isolate before the opening ceremony on July 26.
COVID delayed Tokyo Games
The 2024 Paris Olympics is the first Games after COVID-19 delayed the Tokyo 2020 by a year and forced the Beijing Winter Games to be held under strict health protocols in 2020. No strict protocols or restrictions have been put in place in Paris for the ongoing event.
“We have a protocol (that) any athlete that has tested positive has to wear a mask and we remind everyone to follow best practices but in terms of monitoring COVID, cases are quite low in France,” Paris 2024 chief communications director Anne Descamps has said, as quoted by Reuters.
Several teams in the Games Village have already taken preventive measures and isolation protocols to curb the rise of the COVID-19 virus.
At Paris Olympics, the COVID-19 virus has already forced multiple athletes to pull out, leaving others to once again wear masks. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
