COVID Outbreak at Olympics 2024? 6 Athletes Test Positive

Several athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, including five Australian water polo players and a British swimmer, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to officials. The uptick in cases has raised questions around the measures in place to stop the spread of COVID at the Olympics.

This year’s Games are considered the first post-pandemic Olympics. Unlike the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, there are no strict protocols or restrictions around COVID-19 in Paris.

However, COVID-19 is still spreading around the world. The United States is facing a summer wave, and the virus is also spreading in Europe, including in the Olympic Village.

Which Olympians have tested positive for COVID-19?

British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive for COVID-19 on July 29, less than 24 hours after winning a silver medal in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke final, a spokesperson for Team Great Britain tells TODAY.com via email.

“Adam began feeling unwell on Saturday, ahead of his final. In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for COVID early on Monday morning. He tested positive at that point,” the spokesperson adds.

Peaty is recovering and hopeful to compete in the team relay events later this week, the 29-year-old said in an Instagram post.

“As in any case of illness, the situation is being managed appropriately, with all usual precautions being taken to keep the wider delegation healthy,” says Team GB.

The swimmer’s positive test comes less than a week after five players on the Australian women’s water polo team tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Paris 2024 news release.

“We are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo,” Anna Meares, the chef de mission for the Australian olympic team, said in a press conference last Wednesday.

According to Meares, the Australian athletes who tested positive are wearing masks, isolating from other team members outside of training and avoiding high-volume areas, like the gym.

Is there a COVID outbreak at the Olympics?

So far, there are six confirmed cases of COVID at the Olympics, which does not meet the threshold to be considered an outbreak, NBC News medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel, who has a background in public health and has worked on COVID and other pandemic responses, tells TODAY.com.

She says that, based on existing guidelines, 5% of Olympians contracting COVID within a seven-day period would constitute an outbreak.

What are the COVID protocols at the Olympics?

There are no mandatory, preventative COVID measures at the Paris Olympics, French newspaper Le Monde reported last week.

“For the moment, nothing official has been implemented by the organizing committee,” André-Pierre Goubert, director of the Olympic and High-Performance Sport Center at the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), told the outlet. “We have recommended that delegations use their own medical teams to test their athletes before they reach the Olympic Village.”

Asked by TODAY.com what measures the International Olympics Committee is taking to prevent the spread of COVID, an IOC spokesperson says via email: “Athlete health and safety is of the utmost priority for the IOC and Paris 2024. Paris 2024 is following good practices in managing infectious diseases at the Games.”

The Paris 2024 organizing committee did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment about COVID-19 protocols.

A Paris 2024 spokesperson told CNN in a statement last Wednesday: “We regularly remind athletes and all other Games stakeholders of the good practices to adopt should they experience any respiratory symptoms: wearing a mask in the presence of others, limiting contacts and washing hands regularly with soap and water or using hand sanitizer.”

Paris 2024 also told Le Monde last week that it’s “closely monitoring (COVID) developments in collaboration with the health ministry and Santé publique France (the French national health agency)” and that it will decide to implement specific COVID measures if necessary “in agreement with the health ministry and the SPF.”

Patel, who is in Paris at the Olympics, tells TODAY.com she’s observed zero COVID protocols and that most staff, including medical personnel, are not wearing masks, though a small number of spectators are. She also says it’s not clear how cases are being contained and expressed concern about availability of COVID tests.

The 2024 Olympics, which kicked off last Friday with a star-studded opening ceremony in Paris, will include over 11,000 athletes traveling from over 200 nations, as well as millions of spectators — which experts say are prime conditions for COVID (and other infections) to spread.

However, officials have assured that the Games will not become a superspreader event. “There is no big risk of a cluster,” French Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux told broadcaster franceinfo last week. “COVID is here. We’ve seen a small peak (in cases). But we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, 2022,” Valletoux added.

Santé Publique France is monitoring the situation closely and has not raised the alert level at this time, Valletoux tweeted on July 25, adding, “We must remain vigilant and respect prevention measures.”

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment regarding COVID protocols for Team USA.

According to its website, USOPC does not require athletes to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, but it strongly encourages athletes to remain up-to-date on vaccines and boosters when eligible.

The USOPC does not require asymptomatic testing and follows the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s isolation guidelines: People with respiratory virus symptoms should isolate from others and can return to normal activities if, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving and they have not had a fever (without medication). They should take additional precautions, such as wearing a mask, for five days after.

The CDC issued the following statement on its website regarding the 2024 Olympics: “Mass gatherings are associated with unique health risks, including an increased risk for respiratory illnesses. If you plan to travel to Paris for these events, make sure you are up to date on routine and recommended vaccines, including for COVID-19.”