Already facing worms in their food and dangerous bacteria levels in the Seine River, athletes are now experiencing a COVID-19 surge during the Paris Olympic Games.
After taking home a bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter sprint, American runner Noah Lyles revealed he’d tested positive for COVID two days ago.
Lyles, who won the gold medal in the 100-meter event earlier in the week, left in a wheelchair on Thursday after pushing through the effects of the virus during his race, joining a tally of at least 40 athletes to test positive since the games began last month.
“I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I just was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100,” a masked Lyles told NBC. “Woke up the doctors and we tested and unfortunately it came up that I was positive for COVID.”
Lyles, who added that he concealed his diagnosis to maintain an advantage over opponents, quarantined at a nearby hotel ahead of the race, though the Paris Games have dropped any official requirements for COVID testing or mitigation strategies.
“You never want to tell your competitors you’re sick,” Lyles said. “Why would you give them an edge over you?”
As Scientific American noted, Paris athletes are no longer required to mask or avoid contact with others if ill, and many have opted to proceed as normal, despite infectious disease doctor Peter Chin-Hong’s assessment that the games provide “picture-perfect ways to spread” the virus.
Outside of the Olympic Village, COVID-19 infection levels have reached recent highs, with wastewater tests putting many U.S. states in the “high” infections category. Experts previously told Salon that we could be experiencing a “summer COVID bump.”
