An Australian water polo player has been isolated at the Paris Games after testing positive for Covid, according to Anna Meares, the country's Olympic team chief, who spoke on Tuesday.
Meares did not disclose the name of the athlete, but mentioned that close contacts were being monitored and tested, while the team would continue training as scheduled. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic, took place mostly without spectators.
Meares explained at a news conference, 'We were due to have two players from water polo with us, however, currently we have had one athlete from their team isolating with Covid which was detected last night. So as a precaution, they're not joining us this morning.' She emphasized that Covid is being treated like any other illness such as the flu, and the athlete is not severely ill but is training in isolation.
Meares added that the athlete's teammates would wear masks and follow social distancing measures. 'It was late last night when she presented with symptoms and the good thing is that having our own testing equipment means that we can get that information really, really quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment,' she said.
Regarding competitions, Meares stated they would wait for clearance from their chief medical officer Carolyn Broderick. French Health Minister Frederic Valletoux reassured that there was no risk of a major Covid cluster in France, noting a small peak in cases but a much lower situation compared to previous years.
