Officials play down Covid cluster fears after water polo players test positive

PARIS :French and Australian officials on Tuesday played down the risk of a COVID cluster at the Paris Olympics after the Australia team was the first to report that one of its athletes, a water polo player, had tested positive and been isolated.

Paris 2024 is meant to be the first post-pandemic summer Olympics, after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year due to COVID, were held largely without spectators.

"I need to emphasise that we are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo," Australia's Olympic team chief Anna Meares told a press conference.

Meares said the athlete's teammates would wear masks and adhere to social distancing measures. All close contacts were tested.

"It was late last night when she presented with symptoms and the good thing is that having our own testing equipment means that we can get that information really, really quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment," Meares added.

"The athlete is not particularly unwell," she said.

A second Australia player, who was a close contact, later tested positive as well, the Australian Olympic Committee said, but no other athletes in the country's team have been diagnosed with COVID.

The first athlete to have tested positive for COVID chose not to train with her teammates on Tuesday afternoon but the second player was well enough to take part, the Australian committee said. Neither were named.

The French government and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said there was only a moderate increase in COVID cases in the country.

"There is no big risk of a cluster," Health Minister Frederic Valletoux told broadcaster franceinfo.

"Of course COVID is here. We've seen a small peak (in cases)," he said. "But we are far from