Italian NOC president positive for COVID, isolating in Beijing

BEIJING : Italy's National Olympic Committee (NOC) president Giovanni Malago has tested positive for COVID-19 in Beijing and is isolating in a dedicated facility in the Chinese capital ahead of the Games, the Italian team said on Tuesday.

The 62-year-old businessman is "totally asymptomatic" a spokesman said, but was isolating under medical observation after the test conducted at his hotel.

Sport gets underway on Wednesday, two days before the official opening of the Beijing Olympics.

Malago heads the organising committee of the next Winter Olympics in 2026 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Earlier, Chinese authorities said that growing COVID cases were "within controllable range".

(Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Ken Ferris)