The Hague (AFP)
The Dutch Olympic organization on Tuesday denounced the "unacceptable" conditions of isolation of the six members of the Dutch team who tested positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo.
Contaminated athletes are locked in "very small rooms" that they cannot ventilate and do not see the light of day, lamented NOC-NSF, a merger of the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Dutch Sports Federation (NSF ).
"What is happening here is unacceptable," Maurits Hendriks, technical director of NOC-NSF, said at a press conference in Tokyo.
"This is not what is expected of the Japanese organization when it comes to isolating. These people see their Olympic dream fly away and are then put in bad conditions again," he said. he adds.
The technical director and his team claimed to have asked the organization for information about the protocols for months, but never received it.
He announced that he would meet on Tuesday with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and also invited the American organization, which also counts many contaminations within its team.
NOC-NSF also asked the Dutch ambassador to Japan to use his contacts so that these concerns can be heard "at the highest level".
Dozens of athletes and team members flew from Amsterdam to Tokyo on Saturday July 17.
Since then, six Dutch - including skater Candy Jacobs, taekwondist Reshmie Oogink, a member of the rowing team, single sculler Finn Florijn and tennis player Jean-Julien Rojer - have tested positive at coronavirus.
Five of them traveled on the same plane, "but there is absolutely no guarantee that the infections are coming from there," Mr Hendriks said.
Other causes could explain these contaminations, in particular the spread of the Delta variant in the Netherlands as well as the on-site context which does not allow athletes to completely avoid contact with the premises, he said.
Following the contaminations, the Dutch team implemented additional health measures, including the closure of the common room, a system for booking training spaces, and the rowing team now has its own room. training.
© 2021 AFP