- The Covid-19 outbreak at the Australian Olympics has worsened
- Three more stars tested positive
- But Anna Meares says she limits herself to the water polo team.
Three more members of Australia’s women’s water polo team have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of infected to five ahead of their Olympic campaign.
Australian chef de mission Anna Meares confirmed the spread to nearly half of the 13-woman squad on Wednesday, a day after two players initially tested positive for the virus.
The medal hopefuls begin their campaign in Paris on Saturday against China, and Meares said all five athletes would still be allowed to train later on Wednesday if they were feeling well enough.
“It’s limited to the water polo team,” he said, adding that the entire women’s team had been tested.
‘There will be training again this afternoon and if those five athletes feel well enough to train, they will do so.’
He said they would wear masks, self-isolate and not visit crowded areas of the town.
Three more Australian athletes have tested positive for Covid ahead of the Olympics
The Australian team has its own medical testing team for diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza.
“We treat COVID-19 the same way we treat any other respiratory illness, but we want to make sure our protocols work as well,” he said.
He said such concerns were “integral to every Olympic Games.”
The French government and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said there has been only a moderate increase in COVID cases in the country.
“There is no major risk of an outbreak,” Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux told Franceinfo.
“Of course COVID is here. We have seen a small spike (in cases), but we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021 and 2022.”
