COVID-19 News: Athletes test positive for Covid-19 illness while at Paris Olympics.

 The Paris Olympics (2024) which began on Friday, July 26 has been rife with issues such as poor sleeping conditions due to the cardboard beds given to the athletes; poorly cooked or non-cooked food, and the unbearable heat, and pests such as mosquitoes, that the athletes have had to struggle with while competing at these Olympics games. 

It has now been revealed by A.F.P. that over forty (40) athletes have tested positive for Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases. Several high profile athletes such as British swimmer Adam Peaty, tested positive for the virus after winning silver in the men's 100m breastroke. He had complained about not feeling well. Also, Australian Lani Pallister pulled out of the women's 1500m women's freestyle swimming race after falling ill. 

"COVID-19 is still very much with us. The virus is circulating in all countries," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director.

Data from 84 countries shows that the percentage of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 disease — "has been rising for several weeks," she told a media briefing.

Furthermore, wastewater surveillance — which tends to give a two-to-three-week advance indication on hospitalisations — suggests SARS-CoV-2 circulation is "two to 20 times higher than what is currently being reported," she said.

"This is significant because the virus continues to evolve and change, which puts us all at risk of a potentially more severe virus that could evade our detection and/or our medical interventions, including vaccination."

Worldwide, the positivity rate is above 10 per cent, but in Europe, the figure is over 20 per cent.

Van Kerkhove said the high circulation was not typical for respiratory viruses which tend to circulate more in the colder months.

However, "in recent months, regardless of season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19, including at the Olympics, currently, where at least 40 athletes have tested positive," she said.

"It’s not surprising to see athletes being infected, because as I said before, the virus is circulating quite rampantly in other countries."

The WHO clarified on Wednesday that they were referring to both COVID and other respiratory diseases.

Van Kerkhove revealed that the Paris 2024 chiefs and the WHO had worked together to prevent disease circulation at the Games and the right measures were being taken.

"We have observed more people wearing masks at the Olympics — and I think that is to take into consideration the circulation of SARS-CoV-2," she said.

The cases at the Olympics underline the current circulation of the virus, with the WHO concerned about how vaccination against developing severe COVID disease has dropped off.

"Over the last two years, we have seen an alarming decline in vaccine coverage, especially among health workers and people over 60 — two of the most at-risk groups. This urgently needs to be turned around," said Van Kerkhove, branding their current coverage rates "abysmal".

The UN health agency urged people to ensure they had received a COVID-19 vaccination dose in the last 12 months — especially those at higher risk.

It recommended administering COVID jabs alongside seasonal influenza vaccines as a way to boost coverage.

Source of data: Agence France-Presse (AFP), an international French News agency headquartered in Paris, France.