PARIS – Many had hoped that the Paris Olympics would be the post-COVID Games. Instead, they seem to be the “who cares about COVID?” Games.
Noah Lyles won a bronze medal in front of tens of thousands of spectators despite the virus, and dozens more athletes at the Games have tested positive. But organizers have only issued health recommendations and no restrictions, allowing athletes to compete if they want and are able to.
This is in sharp contrast to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which had to be postponed for a year due to the global pandemic and took place under strict COVID-19 regulations – and with no fans allowed. Six months later, the Beijing Winter Games had even stricter protocols due to China’s zero-tolerance policy.
In Paris, the Olympics are reminiscent of pre-COVID times. The French have revived the two-cheek welcoming hug – “la bise.” Fans at venues are joyfully reaching out to slap athletes’ hands. Masks are rarely seen in the crowds of fans, and people from all over the world could come to France without proof of vaccination or a negative virus test.
The World Health Organization said earlier this week that at least 40 athletes at the Olympics had tested positive for the virus, as the number of cases increases worldwide.
On Thursday night, Noah Lyles was wheeled off the track in a wheelchair after finishing third in the 200-meter dash, saying he had tested positive for COVID two days earlier.
Last week, British star Adam Peaty tested positive less than 24 hours after winning the silver medal in swimming, saying he first felt ill a day earlier before the 100m breaststroke final.
The Australian delegation in Paris announced that five COVID-affected players on their women’s water polo team would be able to resume training as soon as they felt fit enough.
COVID “is being treated like any other respiratory disease,” Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said on Friday. “It is now being treated like flu, so there is no obligation for special measures or reporting.”
According to the WHO, COVID is no longer a global health emergency, and with vaccination rates now much higher than they were at the last two Olympics, the disease is usually treated like any other respiratory illness. There has been a surge in COVID cases around the world this summer, but because of vaccination and previous infections, most cases are mild unless people are over 65 or have underlying medical conditions.
A Paris 2024 spokesperson said organisers were reminding athletes of “good behaviour” if they were experiencing respiratory symptoms, including wearing a mask in the presence of others, limiting contacts and washing hands regularly. National Olympic committees and federations may add further measures, said the spokesperson, who could not be named in accordance with Paris 2024 Organising Committee guidelines.
The Olympic Village has its own clinic that offers athletes a wide range of health services free of charge.
The Tokyo Olympics in August 2021 took place before most countries had completed their vaccination programs and vaccine supplies were still quite limited. Athletes, media and other visitors were required to provide daily saliva samples, with thousands of tubes being given and tested over the course of the Games. The rise in positive cases outside the Olympic bubble had prompted the government to declare increasingly comprehensive states of emergency.
Anyone who tested positive resulted in immediate isolation in a separate “COVID hotel.” Anyone with significant symptoms was hospitalized.
All Olympic visitors were required to present two negative COVID tests before boarding their flight to Japan and were tested again upon arrival.
Dining halls at the Olympics had plastic partitions between seats, and diners had to wear gloves to pick up their food. No fans were allowed at the events, leading to strange scenes: noise echoed through the empty stadiums, and coaches could be heard cheering on their athletes.
At the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February 2022, even stricter rules will apply – in line with Chinese policy.
The Olympic organizers operated a health safety bubble – a so-called “closed-loop management system” – before, during and after the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, even for vaccinated people.
Fans from outside China were not allowed to enter. All media and sports officials at the Olympic Games had to present a negative test result.
All Olympic volunteers from China had to go into single room hotel rooms and quarantine for three weeks before the Olympics and three weeks after the Games before they could return home. They had food delivered and were not allowed to leave their rooms.
Anyone who tested positive was immediately isolated.
France once had strict COVID restrictions in place, including strict lockdowns when the pandemic struck in 2020, followed by mandatory rules to wear masks outdoors, an eight-month nighttime coronavirus curfew and vaccination requirements. The country lifted isolation measures last year and instead advised people to follow basic health recommendations – just in time for the Olympics, which organizers dubbed the “Games Wide Open.”
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Kate Brumback in Paris and Maria Cheng in London contributed to the story.
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