All U.S. athletes are vaccinated against COVID-19, but breakthrough cases are still possible.
The International Olympic Committee says there will be layers of testing to detect any asymptomatic cases.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics just days away and the world still in the throes of the COVID-19 pan-demic, Olympic athletes might miss out on compet-ing if they develop the disease.
It’s already become a problem for the U.S. team, after U.S. bobsledder, Josh Williamson, tested posi-tive for COVID-19 just 4 days before his scheduled departure for Beijing. The bobsled competitions are scheduled for the final week of the Olympics, leav-ing hope for Williamson that he will be able to compete.
But to do so, he will have to follow strict protocols put forth from the International Olympic Commit-tee. And what about other athletes with more immi-nent competitions who may test positive?
“As I understand it, the Olympic Committee has a thick rule book that covers just about all circum-stances,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine, department of health policy, and professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University. “The athletes and their coaches have little choice.”
The rule book has policies laid out for every sce-nario, and should a competitor test positive, it may be very tricky for them to go through with a compe-tition. The U.S. Olympic Bobsled team poses before flying to China. Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC
What are the COVID-19 testing protocols for the 2022 Winter Olympics? The chief medical officer of the U.S. Olympic team told The Associated Press that all of the 200-plus athletes heading to Beijing are fully vaccinated. Still, breakthrough infections are possible.
The International Olympic Committee has a clear plan for layers of testing, to detect potential infec-tions at every stage.
“While participants need to have at least two nega-tive pre-departure tests within 96 and 72 hours prior to their departure, they will immediately be tested upon arrival. Games participants are asked to take a PCR test at the airport. Trained customs staff will take an oropharyngeal (throat) and a nasopharyngeal (nose) swab sample, which will be combined for analysis.” In addition, Olympic participants will be PCR-tested daily for COVID-19, which will minimize the chance of undetected positive cases.
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What if an athlete tests positive?
If an athlete tests positive for COVID-19 and is asymptomatic, he or she will be discharged from isolation once they have two consecutive PCR test results that are taken 24 hours apart.
