A norovirus outbreak that initially affected 41 security personnel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea has spread to the athletes village. According to Reuters, two Swiss skiers were the first Olympians participating in the winter games to have contracted the so-called “winter vomiting bug,” despite attempts to sequester 1,200 security guards in the hopes of containing the outbreak. However, no other athletes have contracted the seasonal sickness that causes vomiting, diarrhea, and general discomfort… yet.
A spokesperson for the Swiss Olympic team confirmed that freestyle skier Fabian Boesch was one of the two athletes who had been hit by the extremely contagious bug. The second competitor was not identified:
“Everyone else is safe. We did everything we could,” the spokesperson told Reuters. “We took them away from the rest of the team and now they have to recover.”
Boesch and his unnamed teammate contracted norovirus a few days before their diagnosis was publicly revealed. As a result, the Swiss team spokesperson noted “their symptoms had now mostly gone away” and that they “could potentially still compete”:
“They were taken to a single room and had no contact with the other athletes,” Swiss Olympics said in a statement.
“Please note that athletes who have had the norovirus are allowed to compete if they are in good physical health, have been tested by the Swiss medical team, take all precautionary measures and the IOC has been consulted.”
Whether or not the two Swiss skiers are able to compete remains to be seen. Seeing as how the freestyle competition is scheduled to go on through February 23rd, there’s a chance they may return to the slopes.
(Via Reuters)