As Chinese language officers tout the containment of COVID-19 on the Winter Olympics, tales of poor therapy of athletes in Beijing's "quarantine motels" proceed to run rampant.
With 10,000 athletes, journalists and dignitaries arriving in Beijing for the video games, Chinese language officers applied numerous pointers geared toward mitigating the unfold of the virus, like the usage of quarantine motels to accommodate asymptomatic people who check constructive. Because of these pointers, Chinese language Olympic officers described their COVID mitigation as "working."
"Due to stringent and efficient COVID-19 countermeasures, the Video games has proceeded easily up to now with the danger of infections below management," the state-run Xinhua Information Company wrote on Monday, noting that there was solely a single constructive COVID case inside the "closed-loop" of the quarantine zone.
"A variety of strict protocols are in place to make sure the protection of rivals, officers, worldwide media workers and spectators," the report mentioned, including that Brian McCloskey, chief of the Beijing 2022 Medical Knowledgeable Panel, mentioned at a press convention final week that closed-loop system "met our expectations."
Nevertheless, athletes which have been confined to the quarantine motels have advised a unique story, considered one of poor dwelling situations and a scarcity of obtainable meals.
Certainly one of these Olympians, Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova, wrote on social media about her expertise in one of many motels.
"My abdomen hurts, I am very pale and I've large black circles round my eyes. I would like all this to finish. I cry on daily basis. I am very drained," Vasnetsova mentioned on Instagram. She shared a photograph of what she mentioned was "breakfast, lunch and dinner for 5 days already," which included plain pasta, an undetermined sauce, a couple of potatoes and a few charred meat.
"As we speak I ate all of the fats they serve as an alternative of meat as a result of I used to be very hungry," Vasnetsova mentioned, including that her "bones are already protruding." She additionally claimed that the crew physician obtained a lot better meals than the athletes.
Vasnetsova and Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans each mentioned that their meals and total therapy improved after they publicly voiced their issues.
Regardless of this, different athletes and officers have additionally known as out the purported substandard dwelling situations. This contains Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the top of the German delegation to the Beijing Video games, who known as the quarantine motels "unreasonable."
Schimmelpfennig initially spoke out after discovering the dwelling situations of Eric Frenzel, a German gold medalist within the Nordic mixed who examined constructive for COVID. The delegation head advised German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the athletes required larger rooms and meals deliveries on a extra common schedule.
Nevertheless, because the outcry continues, Chinese language officers seem to have been fast to enhance situations inside the motels. A spokesperson for the Russian biathlete crew reportedly confirmed an image of Vasnetsova's newest meal, which consisted of recent salmon, sausages, and greens, and in addition mentioned that a stationary bike was being put in in her room.
The bettering of dwelling situations was additionally upheld by Australian biathlete Britteny Cox, who reportedly advised Xinhua: "I truly assume the bubble is admittedly glorious. I really feel actually protected, I really feel just like the village is extremely clear and wholesome."
"They've accomplished a stellar job with the entire COVID protocols," American freestyle skier Aaron Blunck reportedly added.
Newsweek has reached out to the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) for remark.
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