ROC women’s ice hockey team resumes training following Covid outbreak
From CNN’s Gawon Bae in Seoul
The Russian Olympic Committee's women's ice hockey team has been cleared to participate in the Winter Games after they were forced into quarantine due to several players contracting Covid-19, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation said in a press release on Wednesday.
The whole team went into quarantine on Jan. 31 due to positive PCR tests among several players, according to the statement. Those players were subsequently isolated from the rest of the ROC contingent.
Athletes and coaches subsequently conducted tests for three consecutive days with all the results coming back negative. The personnel who are not isolating were permitted to resume training on Thursday.
The statement added that forward Ilona Markova could not travel to the Games after testing positive prior to departing for Beijing.
Two players, goalkeeper Valeria Merkusheva and defender Maria Batalova, will join the team on Thursday, the statement added.
The ROC’s women’s ice hockey team will face Switzerland in its opening match on Feb. 4.
7:34 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Beijing to invite 150,000 spectators to attend the Winter Olympics
From CNN's Gawon Bae in Seoul
The Olympics will invite 150,000 spectators to attend the 2022 Winter Games, Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee Yang Shu'an confirmed Thursday during the 139th International Olympic Committee Session.
Shu'an said Olympic venues will be split evenly between spectators from inside the “closed-loop" system — which separates Games-related personnel from the public — and those living outside of it.
The 150,000 spectators from outside the "closed loop" will include international residents residing in mainland China, diplomatic personnel, marketing partners, winter sports enthusiasts, residents and local students, he said.
Spectators inside the “closed loop” will consist of members of the Olympic family, National Olympic Committees delegations, athletes, media representatives and broadcasters, Shu'an added.
On Jan. 17, the IOC announced tickets for the Games would not go on sale for international visitors or the general public, citing Covid-19 concerns. Instead, it decided groups of spectators would need to be invited to fill the stands.
7:34 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Germany reports new Covid-19 daily cases record
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Germany reported a new record of daily Covid-19 infections with more than 238,000 new cases over the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Germany also reported 164 Covid-19 related deaths, according to JHU.
Thursday's numbers bring the total number of coronavirus cases that Germany has reported since the start of the pandemic to 10,474,992 and the total number of deaths to118,339.
9:19 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans relocated to Olympic Village after Covid-19 isolation scare
From CNN's Hannah Ritchie in Sydney
Kim Meylemans speaks to press at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Brussels, before leaving for Beijing on January 29. (Laurie Dieffembacq/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images)
German-born Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans has been permitted to enter the Winter Olympics Village on Thursday, following an emotional Instagram video concerning a Covid-19 isolation scare in Beijing.
Early this month before her arrival in China, the 25-year-old Olympian had tested positive for Covid-19, missing two World Cup races as a result, according to her Instagram.
Despite 12 negative PCR tests in the lead up to the Games, Meylemans said she then tested positive upon her arrival into Beijing.
“I had 12 negative PCR tests in the last two weeks but suddenly upon arrival in China, I am considered positive again. Science proving that a PCR can detect viral residue long past a person's infection, seems to not matter at all,” she said in an Instagram post Tuesday.
After being placed in isolation at a government hotel, Meylemans then returned “two consecutive negative Covid-19 tests” according to a statement from the International Olympic Committee.
It was her understanding that following the negative tests, in accordance with the Beijing 2022 Playbook, she would be treated as a close contact and moved to the Olympic Village for seven more days of isolation.
Instead, Meylemans revealed in an emotional video on Wednesday that she had been placed in a government facility, sparking outcry on social media.
“Some of you have read the good news that I was sent out of the isolation facility, we thought this meant I was allowed to return to the Olympic Village and would be treated as a close contact, but I did not return to the village, the ambulance went to another facility where I am now,” Meylemans told her Instagram followers.
“I am supposed to stay here for another seven days with two PCRs a day and no contact with anybody else. We are not even sure I will ever be allowed to go into the village. Obviously, this is very hard for me so I ask you all to give me time to consider my next steps because I am not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition while being in this isolation,” she added, breaking down in tears.
The situation was quickly rectified though. After Belgian Olympic officials and the IOC learned of Meylemans' situation, they asked for her to be moved into the isolation site inside the Olympic Village.
In an update posted late Wednesday from inside isolation, Meylemans said the efforts from her supporters and the IOC had “paid off.”
“I am now in a wing that is just isolation, but at least I am back in the village. I feel safe and I’ll be able to train a little better here,” she said.
Meylemans, who made her Olympic Winter Games debut at PyeongChang in 2018, was the first skeleton slider, male or female, to ever represent Belgium in the Olympics.
Per the Beijing 2022 Playbook, athletes who are identified as close contacts at the Games are allowed to train, compete, and live in the Olympic Village, provided they remain in a single room, are transported alone and eat alone.
9:12 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Beijing identifies 55 new Covid-19 cases among Olympic-related personnel
From CNN's Gawon Bae in Seoul
Fencing dividing the closed loop area from the open area is pictured at Beijing National Stadium on February 3. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
The Beijing Olympic Committee has identified 55 new Covid-19 cases among Games-related personnel as of Wednesday, it said in a statement Thursday.
Of the 55 cases, 29 were found among new arrivals, while 26 were found in people already in the “closed loop” system, which keeps Olympic staff, stakeholders and athletes separated from the public.
Athletes and team officials made for 26 of these cases, 13 of which were already inside the “closed loop.”
Since the “closed-loop” system officially began on Jan. 23, a total of 287 Olympic-related Covid-19 cases have been identified, 102 of which are athletes and team officials.
Since Jan. 23, a total of 10,619 people have arrived in Beijing, and 599,105 Covid-19 tests have been conducted inside the “closed loop,” according to the statement.
7:34 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Japan reports over 90,000 new Covid-19 cases, setting a record high
From CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Japan reported over 94,000 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday — the highest since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Tokyo officials said that 51.4% of hospital beds allocated for Covid-19 patients were in use as of Feb. 2, surpassing the 50% cutoff point that metropolitan officials have set in deciding whether to ask the central government to declare a state of emergency for the capital.
The surge in cases in Tokyo and nationwide comes despite extensive efforts to curb the virus’ spread. Thirty-four out of 47 prefectures have imposed quasi-emergency measures to prevent straining the medical system. Measures include asking bars and restaurants to close early and to refrain from serving alcohol.
As cases continue to rise nationwide due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, a government Covid task force said on Wednesday that it was not possible to predict when the sixth wave would peak. The task force said that the infection rate had decreased after the fifth wave peaked in September 2021 as many elderly people had been fully vaccinated. It added it was necessary now to speed up booster shots for the elderly.
As of Feb. 1, Japan had fully vaccinated 80% of its population and 4% had received booster shots, according to the prime minister’s office.
7:59 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Beijing says its Covid-19 situation is “becoming better” after days of reporting cases
From CNN's Beijing Bureau
Beijing said its Covid-19 situation is “becoming better” after the capital city reported single-digit cases for the past few days, the municipal government said in a briefing Wednesday.
Two new local cases were reported in Beijing on Wednesday, both of which were symptomatic.
Since Jan. 30, the city has reported between two and four daily cases each day. Prior to that, it reported 20 cases on Jan. 29, which was the last time it saw double-digit cases.
Since Jan. 15, the total number of cases found has reached 115, including 109 of the Delta variant and six of the Omicron variant, authorities said.
Many of the cases in recent weeks were reported in the Fengtai district, where an outbreak of the Delta variant was linked to workers at a cold chain storage facility. In an effort to prevent its spread, authorities launched at least five rounds of mass testing for more than 2 million people in the district and imposed snap lockdowns on buildings where cases were found.
Earlier this week, Beijing authorities also imposed lockdowns on the northern Anzhenli neighborhood in the Chaoyang district, just three kilometers from Beijing National Stadium, over Covid-19 concerns.
7:36 a.m. ET, February 3, 2022
Unvaccinated people are 97 times more likely to die of Covid-19 than those with a booster, CDC director says
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
People who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 are 97 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than people who are vaccinated and boosted, according to data presented Wednesday by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
“Vaccination and booster doses substantially decrease the risk of death from Covid-19,” Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing while presenting data collected the week ending December 4.
“The number of average weekly deaths for those who are unvaccinated was 9.7 per 100,000 people, but only 0.7 per 100,000 people for those who were vaccinated. This means the risk of dying from Covid-19 was 14 times higher for people who were unvaccinated compared to those who received only a primary series. For those who were boosted, the average of weekly deaths was 0.1 per 100,000 people, meaning that unvaccinated individuals were 97 times more likely to die compared to those who were boosted.”
Walensky also presented data from CDC’s COVID-NET surveillance system showing 54% of people hospitalized for Covid-19 over the age of 65 are unvaccinated, despite only 12% of people in this age group being unvaccinated overall. Just 8% of the patients hospitalized in this dataset were vaccinated and boosted. “These same trends are seen across all age groups,” she said.
“These data show us that the percent of people who are currently hospitalized due to Covid-19 are disproportionately unvaccinated and disproportionately not boosted. Additionally, these data confirm that vaccination and boosting continue to protect against severe illness and hospitalization even during the Omicron surge.”
