The precise number of infections is uncertain because most people who get infected never show symptoms. Now affecting almost all Latin American and Caribbean countries, the Zika outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of global concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Advertisement
Last night (Saturday), we made a decision to do a “stress test” where taps and toilets were simultaneously turned on in apartments on several floors to see if the system could cope once the athletes are in-house.
The bathrooms in the Olympic Village.
Spanish Olympic team chief Cayetano Cornet is hopeful that “critical” conditions at the Olympic village in Rio will drastically improve in time for the arrival of the bulk of his country’s delegation on Friday.
However, the head of the Australian Olympic team, Kitty Chiller, thanked organizers on Monday for responding promptly to her concerns by deploying hundreds of maintenance people and cleaners.
With taps and toilets turned on simultaneously on different floors, all hell broke loose. She said the test failed, “water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was “shorting” in the electrical wiring”.
Chiller said Australians weren’t the only ones experiencing major problems.
A statement from the International Olympic Committee to ATR said that Rio officials “have expressed regret”, over how the village was handled, and that crews were continuing to work 24 hours a day to finish the necessary upgrades.
Italy has contracted its own team of workers to finish off the building work, Brazil has complained of leaks on the ground floor, while Mexico’s team has encountered ceiling leaks and blocked drains, Globo news site reported.
Champion New Zealand rower Mahe Drysdale posted on Instagram that the accommodation was “good”.
A British spokesman told Reuters: “We are confident that our accommodation is ready to receive athletes and will be to the highest standards within the village”.
With the opening ceremonies for the 2016 Rio Olympics only a few weeks away, concerns are growing about Brazil’s level of preparedness for the games.
Several countries have expressed concern about accommodation in the village, but with 10 days to go before the start of the Games, Spanish athletes have been unable to move into their allocated building yet.
“There are some adjustments that we are dealing with and will be resolved in a short while”, said Carlos Nuzman, the president of the organizing committee, according to the Times.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, after harshly criticizing Chiller on Sunday, has acknowledged that Australia had the worst prepared building in the vast complex that contains seven swimming pools, tennis courts and a dining area to serve 60,000 meals daily.
Advertisement
“We had the kangaroo and the emu out front of our building in London in 2012 and we have brought them here”.
