PREKIN, Nov 12 (Reuters) – China reported the first cases of COVID-19 among foreign athletes on Friday in the preparatory tests for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Games, as strict measures are being put to the test to control any outbreak.
Two athletes of the same nationality tested positive, said Huang Chun, a member of the Games organizing committee.
Both have been transferred to quarantine hotels, he told a news conference in the Chinese capital.
The deputy mayor of Beijing previously said that the coronavirus would be one of the biggest challenges for the organization of the Games by the city.
A widespread Games-related outbreak would hurt China’s record on rapid containment as it has chosen to maintain a zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
The Games will be held from February 4 to 20, with all participants undergoing daily COVID-19 tests, and without international spectators. Athletes and other personnel related to the Games will also be engulfed in a “closed circuit” bubble.
“We will continue to allow the person to participate in training and activities related to the Games, but (the person) will have to undergo strict health control and COVID-19 tests every day,” Huang said, referring to the first athlete who tested positive.
The individual will also stay in his room, eat and travel in vehicles alone, Huang told reporters. The second case was a close contact with the first athlete, he said, without giving details about his nationality.
The announcement of the infections followed news earlier this week that a Polish athlete fell during a luge training session. (Reporting by Thomas Suen and Gabriel Crossley; writing by Ryan Woo; edited in Spanish by Gabriela Donoso)))