A COVID-19 outbreak has emerged at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and at least 40 athletes tested positive, including U.S. track star Noah Lyles.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the World Health Organization, said in a briefing Tuesday that many countries have seen a surge in COVID, including the international group of athletes gathered at the Olympics.
Athletes who are COVID-positive are still competing, like Lyles.
Unlike the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which had stricter rules to prevent the spread of the virus, this year’s competition has nearly returned to pre-pandemic norms.
All previous COVID protocols were dropped ahead of the Paris games, and the efforts are aimed at approaching the virus as a more common illness like a cold or the flu, according to popular science magazine Scientific American.
Officials are now allowing athletes and teams to determine for themselves how they want to prevent or respond to the virus.
Lyles competed in the 200-meter semifinals Wednesday, while knowing that he had tested positive for COVID. The runner told only his family, his doctor and his coaches — but his teammates didn’t know, USA Today reported.
“I was going to compete regardless,” Lyles said. “If I didn’t make it to the [200] finals, that would’ve been the sign not to compete.”
Lyles earned a bronze medal in the race, but his competition brought into question the Olympics’ handling of COVID and what will happen as more athletes test positive.
Despite Lyles’ positive test sparking international criticism, athletes seem to be shrugging off the illness and recognize that COVID is just something the world lives with now, per The Washington Post.
