Athletes test positive for Covid-19 inside Beijing Winter Olympic bubble
- A foreign luger tested positive on arriving at the airport for a pre-Games training event, followed by a teammate and another close contact
- The Chinese capital has imposed strict controls ahead of the Olympics, which will pose a major test for its zero-Covid strategy
One of the athletes, a foreign luger, tested positive at the airport when entering the country and was sent to a quarantine hotel along with another infected teammate as they had no symptoms, officials said last week.
But a third person has now tested positive – another luger and a close contact of the earlier cases, Zhao Weidong, an Olympics organising committee member, said on Thursday.
The latest patient is asymptomatic and has also been transferred to a quarantine facility for “medical observation,” Zhao told a press conference.
Authorities are continuing to “test people, materials and the environment, as well as conducting health monitoring and disinfecting the environment,” Zhao added.
China is gearing up to tackle one of the largest challenges to its zero-Covid strategy as thousands of athletes are expected to descend on Beijing for the Games, which will be held from February 4 to 20.