The World Health Organization (WHO) also issued a statement on Thursday, reiterating that most of those affected by the Zika virus do not experience any symptoms at all. University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran, who specializes in public health, said in an article published this week in the Harvard Public Health Review.
Advertisement
Nature World News reports that Zika virus has spread across the Latin America after it had been discovered in Brazil in May 2015.
“The SNOC (Singapore National Olympic Council) will do their best to make sure the contingent is well-prepared for whatever conditions we are going to face in Rio”, echoed rower Saiyidah Aisyah.
“According to Brazil’s official data, Rio is not on the fringes of the outbreak, but inside its heart…”
That’s enough for some visitors, like U.S. women’s soccer goalie Hope Solo.
Singapore’s 2016 Olympic contingent now comprises 24 athletes from swimming, sailing, rowing, table tennis, badminton and athletics.
While Solo will still compete, world-class golfers Vijay Singh of Fiji and Australia’s Marc Leishman have declared they will not participate in the 2016 Olympics due to Zika virus concerns.
The Australian is the highest-ranked golfer to withdraw from Olympic consideration.
“I have not used it as an excuse although it would be very convenient to do so. I feel bad, I wanted to play and finally decided against it”.
An Angus Reid poll found 76 per cent of respondents said they were moderately or very concerned about people at the Rio Olympics spreading the virus to their home country. Officials for the International Olympic Committee revealed these remarks to the BBC concerning their ultimate decision to move forward in light of Zika fears.
The IOC’s medical director, Richard Budgett, said that he would continue to monitor the situation closely, but he and the IOC authorities insisted the August 5-21 games would go on as planned.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee said it will not scrap, postpone or shift the Games over the Zika virus, although it added it will continue to monitor the situation.
Public officials’ response to the Zika virus has also been steeped in denial, Attaran says. Pregnant women are also not encouraged to travel to areas with documented Zika cases. This rare form of paralysis is sometimes fatal.
Advertisement
“But where is the love for the possible victims of a foreseeable global catastrophe: the damaged or dead adults, and the babies for whom – and mark these coldly clinical words carefully – fetal brain disruption sequence is as bad as it sounds, and extinguishes the hope of a normal life even before it has begun?”
