The 2016 Rio Olympics will take off by August, but both the Olympics organizers and the Brazilian government are facing the herculean task of making the country safe and healthy for global athletes that will be visiting the country in the face of the Zika virus epidemic.
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Athletes and visitors planning to come to the Olympics have expressed concern about Zika, a virus linked to birth defects in newborns, which has been reported in more than 30 countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
“Our priority is to protect the health of the athletes, ‘ Budgett said on Thursday”.
This raises a crucial Zika question on CNN: should the Rio Olympics be canceled or postponed?
Everyone involved should take the best expert advice. Among athletes who have openly voiced worries about going to the games is US goalkeeper Hope Solo.
Bjorgen passed on the flame to 12-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, who lit the same cauldron exactly 22 years after her father Crown Prince Haakon did the same thing at the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. As such, President Bach called on five of the athletes – Rachel Elizabeth Olivier (RSA), Kai Xiang Chew (MAS), Julia Moore (AUS), Britta Sillaots (EST) and Justine Brasseur (CAN) – to describe what the Youth Olympic Games mean to them, inviting them to share their feelings with the world using the hashtag #iLoveYOG.
The World Health Organization has characterized the outbreak as an emergency situation but has not issued a travel ban.
Brazil is investigating the potential link between Zika infections and more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can result in developmental problems.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced its intention to hire two infectious disease specialists to advise athletes anxious about traveling to Rio for the Games.
“All I can do is speak for myself. That’s good”, he said.
“You certainly can never force anyone to go”, he said.
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In a telephone interview with the AP, Dr. David Hughes said the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay and other aquatic venues for Olympic events were a serious health issue.
