Regarding the countermeasures against the infection of the new coronavirus at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, a group of public health experts in the United States has summarized the view calling for improvement as insufficient and published it in a medical journal.
Professor Biden's transition team, Professor Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, who was an advisor to the new Corona measures, published his views in the American medical journal "New England Journal of Medicine" dated 25th. There are four public health experts.
Among them, the IOC = International Olympic Committee, etc. has not considered whether the competition venue is outdoors or indoors regarding the "playbook" that summarizes the rules necessary for infection control, etc. "It is based on a scientifically rigorous risk assessment. In addition to pointing out that there is no such thing, we are concerned about the fact that many athletes are supposed to use smartphone apps that they do not have during the competition to track the contact status.
He warned that many people involved, including Para athletes, who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill, volunteers, tournament officials, and hotel employees, could not be sufficiently protected from the risk of infection, and are seeking improvement. I will.
On top of that, the WHO = World Health Organization convenes an urgent committee consisting of infectious disease experts and athletes to give advice on crisis management at the Tokyo Games, saying that "urgent action is needed to hold the Olympic Games." Is also recommended.
The "Playbook" will be updated further in the future, and the final version will be released next month.
Expert views on "playbooks"
In the opinion of the experts released, the Playbook does not specify how often athletes should undergo the PCR test, but it should be done at least once a day.
In addition, although smartphone apps are supposed to be used to track contact status, wearable terminals equipped with sensors are said to be more effective because few athletes compete with smartphones.
In addition, he pointed out that there should be a limit on the number of people indoors, such as keeping athletes in private rooms, saying that detailed indoor infection countermeasures are not stipulated, such as shared rooms being assumed in the dormitory. I will.