Covid instances mount as athletes, personnel arrive in Beijing

During the previous 4 days China has detected 119 COVID-19 instances amongst athletes and personnel concerned within the Beijing Winter Olympics, with authorities imposing a “closed loop” bubble to maintain individuals, employees and media separated from the general public.

The tally from the weekend confirmed 37 new instances on Sunday, and 34 on Saturday, with most testing constructive after arrival on the airport, Games organisers mentioned on Monday.Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova mentioned her personal Olympic ambitions have been over after testing constructive twice following her arrival in Beijing, one in every of three Russian constructive assessments introduced on Monday.”Unfortunately, my Olympic dream will remain just a dream,” Vasnetsova wrote on social media. “Maybe one day I will find the strength to rise again but it will be a completely different story.”Eight athletes or crew officers have been amongst 28 individuals who had examined constructive on arrival on the airport on Sunday.International Olympic Committee member Emma Terho, who heads the IOC’s athletes fee, additionally examined constructive and mentioned she has been in isolation because the weekend.”Even though this is not the start I envisaged, I was happy to see the protocols that Beijing 2022 has put in place are working well,” Terho, a retired Finnish ice hockey participant, mentioned on social media.The instances have set off alarm bells amongst athletes involved their competitors may very well be over earlier than it even begins after having ready meticulously for years.”You’re like just so stressed about making sure you’re as safe as you can be,” American luger Chris Mazdzer mentioned. “Yet at the same time, there’s no way to be 100 percent safe.READ | Canadian PM Justin Trudeau tests positive for Covid-19, says ‘feeling fine'”There have been quite a lot of athletes which are testing constructive proper now and it is scary since you put in 4 years because the final Games and f or all of that to go to waste within the final week, final couple of days, it could be a tragedy,” he told reporters.Some 3,000 athletes, along with coaches, officials, federation delegates and media are expected for the Feb. 4-20 Games.The “closed loop” will allow them to move between w accommodation and Olympic venues on official transport but they are not allowed out to move freely in public.ZERO-TOLERANCEIn contrast to many countries seeking to live with COVID-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights.An opinion piece in the People’s Daily — the ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper — praised the work done to prepare for the Games and battle the spread of the virus.”The epidemic and management measures of the Beijing Winter Olympics are the epitome of China’s profitable expertise in preventing the epidemic, and are additionally a centered demonstration of China’s spirit and China’s power,” it said.Athletes have also been testing positive prior to their arrival in Beijing, with the world’s leading women’s ski jumper, Marita Kramer of Austria, rescheduling her departure in an effort to get healthy in time for her competition after testing positive in Germany.Russian skeleton racers, Olympic silver medallist Nikita Tregubov and Vladislav Semyonov, will miss the Games after testing positive before setting off.There was, however, good news for the Australian curling team after Tahli Gill returned two negative tests following an initial positive in the Chinese capital on Sunday.Gill and team mate Dean Hewitt had been in isolation for two days.”We have handled this time as a relaxation day and a time to essentially deal with our Olympic objectives,” the pair mentioned in an announcement.READ: China gears as much as host winter Olympics amid Covid scare | In Pics