BEIJING, Jan 31 (Reuters) – During the past four days China has detected 119 COVID-19 cases among athletes and personnel involved in the Beijing Winter Olympics, with authorities imposing a “closed loop” bubble to keep participants, staff and media separated from the public.
The tally from the weekend showed 37 new cases on Sunday, and 34 on Saturday, with most testing positive after arrival at the airport, Games organisers said on Monday.
“Unfortunately, my Olympic dream will remain just a dream,” Vasnetsova wrote on social media. “Maybe one day I will find the strength to rise again but it will be a completely different story.”
Eight athletes or team officials were among 28 people who had tested positive on arrival at the airport on Sunday.
“Even though this is not the start I envisaged, I was happy to see the protocols that Beijing 2022 has put in place are working well,” Terho, a retired Finnish ice hockey player, said on social media.
The cases have set off alarm bells among athletes concerned their competition could be over before it even starts after having prepared meticulously for years.
“There have been a lot of athletes that are testing positive right now and it’s scary because you put in four years since the last Games and f or all of that to go to waste in the last week, last couple of days, it would be a tragedy,” he told reporters.
