Even before the Olympics: The first two corona cases

A few days before the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris, the first corona cases among athletes were reported.

July 23, 2024

From: dpa

Two Australian water polo players, whose names were not disclosed, have tested positive for the virus. Australia's Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, announced this at a press conference on Tuesday in the French capital. The first athlete has been isolated from the rest of the team, but her health is not really bad.

The second athlete, who was a close contact, was the only teammate to test positive a little later, the Australian Olympic Committee announced. However, she felt fit enough to take part in team training. "I want to stress that we are not treating Covid any differently than other viruses like the flu - this is not Tokyo," said Meares. Unlike the Summer Games in Japan three years ago, there are hardly any restrictions in Paris such as regular mandatory tests or a mask requirement.

The French government and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported only a slight increase in coronavirus cases in the country. "There is no great risk of a cluster," Health Minister Frederic Valletoux told franceinfo. "We are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, 2022." There are some precautionary measures currently being taken. "But since the infection rate is very low, these depend on the organizers," he added.