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AAP
AAP
Murray Wenzel

Five Aussie water polo players infected before Games

Australian chef de Mission Anna Meares has confirmed five women water polo players have COVID. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

Three more of Australia's women's water polo team have tested positive to COVID-19, bringing the number of those infected to five on the eve of their Olympic campaign.

Australian chef de mission Anna Meares confirmed the spread to nearly half of the 13-woman squad on Wednesday, a day after two players had initially tested positive to the virus.

The medal chances begin their campaign in Paris on Saturday against China, Meares saying the five athletes would still be allowed to train later on Wednesday if well enough.

"It is confined to the water polo team," she said, adding all of the women's squad had been tested.

"There is training again this afternoon and if those five athletes are feeling well enough to train they will."

She said they would wear masks, isolate and not visit high-volume areas of the village.

The Australian team has its own medical testing equipment for illnesses such as COVID-19 and the 'flu.

"We treat COVID no differently to any other respiratory illness but want to ensure we have our protocols working as well," she said.

She said such concerns were "part and parcel of every Olympic Games".

The French government and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have said there was only a moderate increase in COVID cases in the country.

"There is no big risk of a cluster," Health Minister Frederic Valletoux told broadcaster franceinfo.

"Of course COVID is here. We've seen a small peak (in cases), but we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, 2022."

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