The number of people infected with Covid-19 US Winter Olympic games Beijing reached the second highest number since the event began, after 45 new cases were detected on Friday (4), but organizers say the situation is under control and cases are isolated.
Cases among people working at the Olympics rose from 21 the day before, while cases in the bubble restricting the movement of participants rose to 19, compared with seven the day before.
Wednesday saw the highest daily number on the bubble so far, at 26, and the highest total daily number at 55. Olympic organizers said that while in-cycle cases could continue increasing, there is no cause for concern.
The created bubble allows athletes, officials and the media to travel between their accommodations and all Olympic venues, including the media centre, but only using official transport.
However, they are prohibited from leaving the bubble and moving freely in the city, as the China seeks to minimize the risk of foreign visitors spreading the coronavirus during the Games.
“The numbers [de casos positivos em geral] have been different every day,” said Huang Chun, deputy director general of the Beijing Olympics’ pandemic prevention and control office, at a press conference on Saturday (5).
He said the different number of daily infections at the Games, which reached 55 on February 2 and just two on January 23, was related to flight arrival times, with some tests carried out after midnight.
“The day before yesterday we had almost 20 flights, many flights arriving at midnight,” he said. “Some of the numbers need to roll over to the next day.”
Each participant must reach Beijing with two tests of PCR negatives made less than 96 hours before your departure. They are tested at Beijing airport before undergoing a rigorous routine of daily testing during their stay in China.
“Even if the overall number is increasing, it is within our expectation,” Huang said. “We think the number will start to decrease.”
So far, 2,877 athletes have disembarked in Beijing, with around 2,900 expected in total. Other arrivals include team support personnel as well as sports, competition and media officials.
A total of 353 Olympic participants have tested positive in Beijing since January 23, both at the airport and in the bubble. Dozens of athletes have tested positive, with many still in isolation and the Games officially underway since Friday.
The most recent cases involved two Swiss ice hockey players who went into isolation, according to the Swiss team.
“In general, we think the situation is under control. Cases within the closed loop have not spread and do not affect competition,” Huang said.
Unlike many countries looking to live with Covid-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy for the disease, canceling almost all international flights.
Source: CNN Brasil
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