PARIS -- French and Australian officials on Tuesday played down the risk of a COVID cluster at the Paris Olympics after the Australia team was the first to report that one of its athletes, a water polo player, had tested positive and been isolated.
Close contacts of the water polo player, who was not named, were being monitored and tested, but the whole team would train as planned, Australia's Olympic team chief Anna Meares said.
Paris 2024 is meant to be the first post-pandemic summer Olympics. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year due to COVID, were held largely without spectators.
"I need to emphasize that we are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo," Meares said. "The athlete is not particularly unwell and they are still training but sleeping in a single room."
Meares said the athlete's teammates would wear masks and adhere to social distancing measures.
"It was late last night when she presented with symptoms, and the good thing is that having our own testing equipment means that we can get that information really, really quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment," Meares added.
"In terms of competitions, we will wait until she gets the all clear."
The French government and the World Health Organization 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."
He added that there was no obligation to wear a mask because the number of cases was still low.
"Some precautions are being taken but, because the level at which COVID is spreading is very low, they depend on the organizers."
Said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris: "France has seen an uptick in recent weeks: Be responsible, especially when you have these athletes who are working. It's just a very big moment in their career, and it would be a horrible thing if you gave that to an athlete. So anybody with symptoms is asked to stay at home or stay in their hotel."