Paris, July 23: An Australian water polo player has been isolated at the Paris Games following a positive COVID-19 test, as confirmed by the country’s Olympic team chief, Anna Meares, on Tuesday. The athlete’s name has not been disclosed, but close contacts are being closely monitored and tested to prevent any further virus spread. Despite this setback, the team continues its training as planned.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were delayed by a year due to the pandemic and were held with limited spectators. However, the current approach to managing COVID-19 is more measured.
“We were due to have two players from water polo with us; however, currently, we have had one athlete from their team isolating with COVID, which was detected last night,” Meares stated during a news conference.
“As a precaution, they’re not joining us this morning. I must emphasise that we treat COVID no differently than other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo. The athlete is not particularly unwell and is still training but sleeping in a single room.”
Meares also highlighted that the athlete’s teammates would wear masks and adhere to social distancing measures to mitigate any risk of further spread.
“It was late last night when she presented with symptoms, and the good thing is that having our testing equipment means that we can get that information quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment,” she added.
Regarding the athlete’s participation in future competitions, Meares stated, “We will wait until she gets the all-clear and we get the information from our chief medical officer, Carolyn Broderick.”
French Health Minister Frederic Valletoux has reassured the public that there is no significant risk of a major COVID cluster in France. “Of course, COVID is here. We’ve seen a small peak in cases,” he told the Franceinfo broadcaster. “But we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, and 2022.”
Valletoux added that there is no current obligation to wear a mask, as the number of cases remains low. “Some precautions are being taken, but because the level at which COVID spreads is deficient, they depend on the organisers.”
