More than 40 athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics have tested positive for Covid-19, highlighting a new global rise in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
The WHO said the virus behind the Covid-19 pandemic is still circulating and countries need to sharpen their response systems.
Several high-profile athletes have suffered from Covid-19 at the Paris Games.
British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive a day after winning silver in the 100-meter breaststroke when he had not felt well, his team said. Australian medal hope Lani Pallister pulled out of the women’s 1500-meter freestyle after falling ill.
Data from 84 countries show that the percentage of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – “has been rising for several weeks,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director.
Furthermore, wastewater surveillance – which tends to give a two-to-three-week advance indication of case numbers – suggests that circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is “two to 20 times higher than what is currently being reported,” she told a media briefing.
“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.”
Van Kerkhove said the high circulation was not typical for respiratory viruses, which tend to increase in circulation during the colder months.
However, in recent months, regardless of the season, many countries have experienced surges of Covid-19, including at the Olympics, where at least 40 athletes had tested positive, she said.
It was not surprising to see athletes being infected because, as she had said before, the virus was circulating quite rampantly in other countries.
With AFP
