Olympic athletes complain of isolation conditions
The Olympic rings are shown at the main media center for the Beijing Winter Olympics Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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(NewsNation Now) — COVID-19 has managed to complicate the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, creeping into athletes’ closed circles and sending several into isolation.
More than 30 athletes at the Beijing Olympics are in isolation facilities after testing positive for the coronavirus, organizers said. The average stay in isolation is seven days.
According to Brian McCloskey, chairman of the expert medical panel for the Beijing Games, “They’re currently 32 athletes in isolation. 50 athletes have been discharged from isolation, so more are leaving than going.”
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Beijing organizers are requiring everyone in the so-called Olympic bubble to take daily PCR lab tests. Those who are confirmed positive are taken to an isolation facility until they’re cleared for discharge with negative tests. People who keep testing positive can also request a review by a medical panel.
The International Olympic Committee stepped in this week, vowing to make improvements to isolation facilities after numerous complaints by athletes and teams about inedible food, dirty rooms and a lack of training equipment and internet access.
One U.S. competitor told NewsNation correspondent Kelly Meyer that she’s concerned for her health. She also doesn’t understand why she’s currently being held in isolation.
The athlete says her health is worsening in isolation and claims not to have control over her diet.
In that same text message to NewsNation, she says that she has been asked not to flush toilet paper, but her main concern is clarity over China’s COVID-19 policies.
The athlete is still in isolation, despite testing negative for the virus twice.
Organizers have acknowledged that isolation is already a difficult situation for athletes — who face the possibility of missing competitions after years of training — and said they were working to quickly address any problems.
In defending the strict protocols in place for participants attending the Olympics in China as necessary to reduce the risk of spread during the Games. McCloskey calls the situation safe.
“We’re seeing it evolve as we expected it to do,” McCloskey said. “We still believe that the situation inside the closed-loop is extremely safe and there’s no sign of spread of infection and certainly no sign of infection spreading outside the closed loop.”
