Two Swiss skiers have contracted a norovirus and have been removed from the Olympic village, in the first cases of infection among athletes participating in the PyeongChang Olympic Games.
The two athletes “are not feeling well” and are not in the village with the rest of the athletes, confirmed this Friday at a press conference the spokesman for the International Olympic Committee, Mark Adams, who assured that “all protocols have been followed (of security)”.
“As you know, these things happen mostly in winter sports but, as I said, all the protocols have been adopted and we wish you a speedy recovery,” said Adams.
The IOC spokesman added that he estimates that the athletes’ recovery will be “very fast and they will be able to compete normally.”
According to the Swiss media, the two affected are acrobatic skiers Fabian Boesch and Elias Ambuehlm, and reports suggest that the rest of the delegation is doing well.
The PyeongChang 2018 organization had so far confirmed more than 200 cases of norovirus infection within the Games, but none among athletes as of today.
The outbreak of this highly contagious virus, characterized by symptoms such as gastroenteritis and vomiting, has already led the organization to remove 1,200 members of private security personnel from the event and replace them with military personnel on February 6, three days earlier. of the inauguration of the sporting event, for fear of its spread.
PyeongChang 2018 wants to prevent the same from happening as at the World Athletics Championships in London last year, when athletes from some countries fell ill and missed competitions when the norovirus spread through one of the hotels. EFE
arh-mra / ea
Two Swiss skiers with norovirus in PyeongChang
