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The quarantine measures at the Tokyo Games have been under scrutiny with its members in recent days. Dutch delegation criticized the restrictions for those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, including not being allowed to go outside.
On Tuesday, Dutch Olympic skateboarder Candy Jacobs, who tested positive for the virus and was quarantined, staged a strike among members of the Dutch delegation in the lobby of their isolated hotel. “Not having air outside is very inhumane” Jacobs, 31, said In a now-deleted video message on Instagram. “Mentally it is very tiring. Definitely more than most people can handle.”
Reshmie Oogink, a Dutch taekwondo competitor who tested positive for the virus and went on strike, told The New York Times that the athletes remained in the lobby until they reached a “resolution on getting fresh air.”
In a message, Oogink confirmed that they are now allowed to receive a 15-minute supervised visit to an open window. However, since the windows in the athletes’ rooms are sealed, they are brought to another room where the windows are opened. It was unclear whether the athletes went to the gym individually or together, and who supervised the visits.
“There isn’t much freedom here,” said Oogink, adding that otherwise athletes could only leave their rooms to get food.
oogink spent time in his hotel room competing in what he called the Covid Games. He turns trash bags into basketball hoops for these Olympic “events” and uses miniature Dutch wooden shoes as basketballs – keeping him a safe distance for Covid-19 of one and a half meters (about 5 feet). basket.
“Being creative kills time during the day,” he said.
Oogink, 31, who participated in the 2016 Rio Games, came back from three anterior cruciate ligament injuries and qualified for another Olympics. However, due to positive tests, Oogink and Dutch teammate Jacobs missed their competition.
“My dream has collapsed,” he said.
Oogink tested positive on July 21 and was quarantined the next day. He added that he did not experience any symptoms and felt fine, adding that the condition had “more of an impact on the mind.” He said that those who produce negative samples using Day 6 and Day 7 PCR testing, without having to undergo any tests in their first five days in quarantine, can exit quarantine.
According to the Olympic playbooks, athletes who test positive for PCR will be isolated in designated facilities, although the location and length of isolation will vary depending on the severity of the case. An IOC official said in an email that Japan’s health authorities required a 10-day quarantine at facilities outside the Olympic Village and multiple negative PCR tests before discharge.
A total of 20 athletes have been confirmed to have tested positive since arriving in Tokyo. But so far, the Games have not resulted in the spike in cases many feared.
But the situation looks different outside the Olympic Village. Tokyo officials on Wednesday Reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases, the city’s highest daily total recorded to date. Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency as bars and restaurants close early and alcohol sales are tightly restricted. Experts attribute the increase in cases to the highly contagious Delta variant and say current measures may not be strong enough to contain its spread.
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