Bach who is in Greece on a three-day visit said Thursday that a group of refugee athletes will march together in the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in a symbol of hope for the world’s migrants.
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Since being awarded the games in 2009, Brazil has suffered a serious financial downturn and is now grappling with an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has caused worldwide health concerns.
The International Olympic Committee sent a note Friday to all national Olympic committees outlining the latest medical advice concerning Zika, the latest problem for a country already dealing with a severe economic crisis and a sprawling corruption scandal.
And the IOC’s medical commission says, “We remain confident that there will be a safe environment for successful and enjoyable Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero”.
And Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organising committee, told The New York Times that there had been no discussions about cancelling the Games or moving them to another city because of Zika.
Brazil’s Health Ministry said in November that Zika is linked to a foetal deformation known as microcephaly, in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and brains.
Olympic travel warning for 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Much of the effort against the illness focuses on protecting people from mosquito bites and reducing mosquito populations.
Women who are planning to become pregnant should discuss travel plans with their health providers to assess the risk, it said.
“Infected travellers departing from Brazil are expected to return to regions that have the potential to sustain transmission”, said Moritz Kraemer, a scholar at Oxford University who researches the global spread of viruses, emphasising that many travellers would return to their home countries during the summer.
Researchers speculated Zika first arrived in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach leaves after a news conference in Lausan …
“At the same time, we are assisting high-level refugee athletes to continue their sports careers”, he said. “The organizing committee will follow the virus prevention and control measures provided by the authorities and provide relevant guidance to Games visitors”.
The Australian, Russian, American and British teams have all said they are monitoring the situation carefully, ahead of the August Olympics.
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“Mexico will be there, Nigeria will be there, six countries that have qualified for the Olympics will be there so we are hoping to get a foot in”, said Da Gama.
