Australia's athletics team checked into the Olympic Village yesterday. (Photo: Athletics Australia - Twitter)
Australia’s Olympic track and field team members have been given the all-clear from the Australian Olympic Committee after a COVID-19 scare among athletics competitors at Tokyo 2020.
Earlier this afternoon, 54 members of Australia’s athletics team were ordered to stay in their rooms in the Olympic Village as a precautionary measure following a US track and field athlete who had contracted COVID-19.
Three members of the Australian Olympic Team’s athletics squad undertook PCR tests after learning they were casual contacts of the confirmed case.
The three, who were all vaccinated, self-reported as soon as they were notified of the case and after undergoing the necessary procedures in line with AOC COVID-19 protocols, have since returned negative results.
The Australian team is tested daily at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and today’s mandatory COVID-19 test also yielded a negative result for the trio.
41 athletes and 13 officials were given permission by the AOC to exit their rooms and resume normal activities following the negative results, though will remain under strict measures in relation to training that restricts contact against others.
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Ian Chesterman, the Australian Olympic Team’s Chef de Mission said the policies the AOC put in place in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020 has been valuable to managing the current situation.
“Once again, abundant caution and our strict protocols continue to keep the team safe. We will continue to be very thorough in our observance of the Tokyo playbooks and our own additional measures,” Chesterman said.
“We want every Australian athlete to be in a position to have their Olympic moment. We will continue to be vigilant.”
With the athletics component of this year’s Olympic Games set to begin tomorrow, the AOC is confident the athletes will be able to compete as planned.
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