August 1, 2024 – Shortly after the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, social media was awash with triumphant posts celebrating athletes’ victories.
“Katie Ledecky was so fast that no other swimmer was in the frame when she finished,” said one tweet in regards to the US swimmer's 1,500-meter freestyle record. Another post highlighted: “Simone Biles now has the most Olympic medals of all time as a gymnast from the USA.”
Then got here moments of heartbreak and tension. British swimmer Adam Peaty missed the gold medal within the 100-meter breaststroke by 0.02 seconds and later tested positive for COVID-19. Australian swimmer Lani Pallister withdrew from the 1,500-meter freestyle after a positive test to conserve her strength for the upcoming 4×200-meter freestyle relay on Thursday.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not released an official variety of Olympians who've contracted COVID-19, but media reports say there have been a minimum of eight infected athletes as of July 31. According to the IOC, around 11,000 athletes will compete in Paris.
The news of COVID on the Games has sparked a fierce debate online about whether the COVID protocols in place are sufficient. It also brings back memories of past Olympics, including the 2021 Tokyo Games, when COVID was so widespread that spectators were barred.
For public health experts all over the world, the emergence of COVID-19 on the Summer Olympics isn't any surprise, neither is the summer surge in cases within the United States and other countries.
A brand new world
“I would say, 'Welcome to the new world,'” said Carlos del Rio, MD, professor of drugs, global health and epidemiology and infectious disease physician at Emory University. “The COVID of today is not the COVID of the past.”
“That was to be expected,” agreed Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar on the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore. Not only do athletes train and live in close quarters, he said, but much of the world, including the U.S., is affected by the summer surge when case numbers rise for a wide range of reasons.
“Any number of cases [reported from the Olympics] is probably an underestimate,” said Adalja.
“In four years, COVID will be at the Games,” he said. “You can expect that to happen.”Nevertheless, it is crucial that measures are taken to contain the disease, he said.
Quantifying the summer rise
According to a CDC update According to statistics released on July 29, the variety of positive tests was 14.3% within the week ending July 20, in comparison with 13% the previous week. 1.9% of emergency department visits were diagnosed with COVID, in comparison with 1.6% the previous week. And 1.1% of deaths were resulting from COVID, in comparison with 1%.
The Omicron variants KP.2, KP.3 and LB.1 were in circulation on July 15, in line with Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the CDC estimates that 37% of recent COVID cases are KP.3.
Summer rise, explained
One reason for the summer surge is the rise in travel, del Rio said. Many people coming back from a vacation or trip to Europe this yr are coming home with COVID symptoms, including himself after coming back from a business meeting in Lebanon. The symptoms are sometimes short-lived, he said; just just a few days.
The increase can also be related to behavioral changes, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease specialist and spokeswoman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“Three or four years ago, people were still wearing masks and being cautious.” Many people don't do this anymore, she said. “People have basically gone back to their normal lives.”
The increase can also be resulting from the continuing evolution of the virus; latest variants of Omicron are currently circulating.
“We don’t consider it a serious disease, but people are still getting infected,” Kuppalli said.
Immunity wanes over time, even in individuals who have kept their vaccinations up to this point as really useful. The vaccines are good at stopping severe disease, even in the event that they aren't nearly as good at stopping infection in the primary place, del Rio said.
Guidelines
The strict IOC protocols of previous Olympics don't apply in Paris. Anne Descamps, Head of Communications for Paris 2024, said Reuters: “We have a Protocol (that) any athlete who tests positive must wear a mask and we remind everyone to follow the very best practices, but by way of COVID surveillance, there are quite few cases in France.”
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has updated its measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, effective in 2022 and for the current Games. A COVID-19 test is not required for athletes without symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, and it follows CDC guidelines for testing, quarantine and isolation. Unvaccinated athletes are no longer required to complete a 5-day quarantine with two tests before visiting the Olympic training center. Space is provided there for quarantine and isolation.
This is all very different from three years ago, when there were considerable concerns about a superspreader event, Adalja said.
“That concern not exists. It's more about affecting athletic performance. An athlete who has COVID won't perform at their best.The [number] “The number of tools at our disposal has increased,” he said, referring to vaccines and antiviral treatments. “And the level of concern has decreased significantly.”
But athletes have posted on social media that they're more focused on masking and other Precautions as increasingly of them report positive tests.Those who feel in a position to accomplish that proceed to coach but isolate themselves when sleeping, in line with the pinnacle of the Australian Olympic team Anna Meares said Reuters.
As the COVID-19 situation has modified, the CDC has modified its guidelines and now provides comprehensive advice on Respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).It says that it's best to stay home and steer clear of others until your symptoms have improved overall for a minimum of 24 hours and You haven't had a fever and will not be taking fever-reducing medications. At this point, you're less more likely to spread the infection. It also says that for the subsequent 5 days, it's best to take steps to forestall the spread of the disease, resembling wearing a mask, keeping your distance from others, and/or getting tested. People at higher risk for severe illness should see a health care provider in order that they can get tested and/or treated.