Five members of Team Canada are already in COVID protocol at Olympics

Handout Photo-USA TODAY NETWORK

Five members of Canada’s Olympic team are in COVID-19 protocol in Beijing, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Friday morning.

The Olympics begin February 4.

“Currently five out of the 246 members of the Team Canada delegation in Beijing are in COVID-19 protocols,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement.

“We are following the Beijing 2022 Playbook rules. Part of our strategy was to arrive early to allow time for confirmation testing and, if necessary, the Medical Expert Panel process to unfold. Because there will likely be persistent shedders among the delegation, we will not be sharing names at this time.”

Members of Team Canada’s delegation includes athletes, coaches, and mission team.

The COC said it will provide a daily update of the number of members of the Team Canada delegation in COVID protocol, beginning on the first day of the Olympics.

“In the event of a confirmed positive case that results in an athlete being unable to compete, we will respect the athlete’s privacy and not announce their name without their consent,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said. “In the event they do wish to disclose their situation, we will work with them to do so.”

Athletes needed two negative COVID tests within a 96-hour window prior to boarding a plane to China, and an additional negative test upon arrival.

In all, 215 athletes are set to represent Canada in 14 sports at the Olympics.

#TeamCanada will have 215 athletes competing in 14 sports at #Beijing2022 🇨🇦

The team makes history as Canada’s most gender balanced team at the Winter Olympic Games 🙌

📊 Learn more about the team, by the numbers: https://t.co/nTa2ytRq8Y pic.twitter.com/nqxpxguydD

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) January 28, 2022

This list includes nine gold medalists from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: figure skater Eric Radford, speed skater Ted-Jan Bloemen, bobsledder Justin Kripps, curlers John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes, freestyle skiers Cassie Sharpe, Mikael Kingsbury, and Brady Leman, and snowboarder Sébastien Toutant.

Canada finished third in the overall medal table in Pyeongchang with 29 medals, including 11 gold.

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