Olympics-COVID-19 looms over Olympics with several athletes testing positive

By Lori Ewing

PARIS (Reuters) -Three years after the Tokyo Olympics were held amid strict precautions and with no fans because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has forced athletes to withdraw from events at the Paris Games and has others donning masks again.

This time the impact is much more limited though.

Several athletes have tested positive, including Australian swimmer Lani Pallister who was a medal hope in the women's 1,500 metres freestyle but had to withdraw from the event.

A team spokeswoman said, however, that the decision was made to save Pallister's energy for the 4x200m freestyle relay which starts on Thursday.

Likewise, British swimmer Adam Peaty, who tested positive a day after he just missed out on 100m breaststroke gold, sharing silver with American Nic Fink, said he would focus on a "fast, full recovery" to give his best in relays later in the week.

"Adam's okay, he's not dying. He's alright, just a bit of a cold," Peaty's British teammate Matt Richards said after his 100m freestyle heat on Tuesday.

"We'll avoid it (COVID) as best we can," Richards said. But "we're here to race. If we get a little bit ill whilst we're racing we'll keep racing. It's how we do it."

Several Australian women's water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 in the days leading up to the opening ceremony, forcing them to isolate from other team members.

However the team played on Tuesday, smashing Serbia 8-3.

STRICT PRECAUTIONS

The Tokyo Games were delayed a year due to COVID while the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were held with strict precautions, making Paris the first post-pandemic Olympics. There are no strict protocols or restrictions around COVID-19 in Paris.

"We have a protocol (that) any athlete that has tested positive has to wear a mask and we remind everyone to follow best practices but in terms of monitoring COVID, cases are quite low in France," said Anne Descamps, Paris 2024 chief communications director.

British swimmer Jacob Whittle said his team were nevertheless getting more strict with the precautions.

"We're hand sanitising and wearing masks everywhere we can," he said. "When we're swimming and doing stuff like this (speaking to reporters) are the only times we're not wearing a mask.

"It's just being extra cautious when eating and going on buses and communal spaces, just being really conscious so as to not catch it and also if you've got it not to give it to anyone else. Just being careful really."

Canada's chief medical officer Mike Wilkinson, said his team "continued to implement many of the infection prevention protocols that proved successful during the COVID pandemic including hand washing, sanitisation and good hygiene practices.

"We also have a team that disinfects shared spaces throughout the day, and isolation protocols for anyone who does get sick," he said.

(Additional reporting by Ian Ransom, Alan Baldwin and Julien Pretot; Writing by Lori Ewing and Ingrid Melander; editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris)