Bad timing for norovirus at the Olympics
If not contained, illness could derail athletes’ dreams
Olympic athletes have a new worry on the horizon. As if the pressures of the Olympics and tensions between North and South Korea weren’t enough, there is now an outbreak of norovirus at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the virus began to spread Sunday night when private security workers began to fall ill with headaches, stomach pain and diarrhea. However, AP notes the illness may have started on Jan. 31, based on local media reports.
Officials report 1,200 people have been sequestered to their rooms, 1,023 people have been investigated, and 32 workers are being treated and are in quarantine, according to the AP. However, USA Today reports a higher number of confirmed cases — 86 as of Wednesday.
Norovirus is a nasty illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports it is very contagious, and can be contracted from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, fever, headaches and body aches, the CDC reports, which develop within 12-48 hours after being exposed to the illness.
The good news is, most people recover within 1-3 days. But that’s not good news for an Olympic athlete, who needs to be at their peak performance abilities for a specific window of time.
Athletes are going to have to step up their hand washing game to help avoid the illness.
And officials at the Olympics need to take precautions as well. So far, AP reports that the organizing committee replaced the 1,200 workers with 900 military police, and plans to provide additional hand sanitizer and disinfect surfaces.
The Winter Olympics should be a time for the best of the best athletes to showcase their skills — problems like norovirus should be the least of their concerns. Instead, it has the potential to derail their dreams.
Hopefully, South Korea’s actions came quickly enough to keep the illness at bay for those about to compete.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?
This country does better when unity takes hold. But as some and others don’t. Guess what? As long as we doing this henpecking nothing gets done. Right now each side wants to pocket the money and glory. We the public are mostly at fault. Once again, we know what to do...but everybody wants it all and nobody wants to give up anything. We talk to each other like we were talking to a dog...It’s called being civil. And we need to get together. Pick out the best and leave the rest. To start is with the basics first that are real easy to do. How is it easy? Try writing to the editor for one. Then we can go to doing step two. If not we just are talking to the wind. Just like everybody is doing now.
I totally agree with Rusty Washum’s comments in his 2/5/18 letter titled “God Is Your Guide.” American Christians are increasingly reviled in a land historically founded as an explicitly Christian one. America’s culture today is not merely un-Christian, but in my opinion anti-Christian. The news and entertainment media mock and belittle Christian beliefs while the political progressive left equates biblical values with bigotry, white nationalism, and fascism.
Why is this happening? AntiChristianity was turbo charged by President Obama, who for eight years openly denigrated the very faith he claimed to follow.
Much of the progressive left’s hatred of Christianity has everything to do with sex and morality, the very biblical percepts and commandments that have served as civilization’s moral foundation.
The progressive radical left is basically godless. Make no mistake, the radical left has forgotten God, and have been ascendant in modern America in its efforts to obliterate anything Christian, including our constitutional rights and our American history. It is not only godless, it is arguably insane.
The radical progressive left has forgotten God; that’s why all this is happening.
This request is to all retailers in Yuma. I have noticed that most stores have many handicapped signs in their parking lots.
Could you make a couple of these parking spaces for HANDICAPPED VETERAN PLATES ONLY? We owe them that much. Thank You, market would be better served by permitting Northwest Broadcasting to own both KSWT and KYMA, thus monopolizing both the NBC and CBS offerings. Now, to my dismay, those two channels have been pulled from Spectrum. Regardless of the length of the disruption, it is a great disservice to this isolated service area. I suggest that the viewing audience contact the FCC, as I have done via their web complaint page.
Jaywalking has begun to become a bigger problem now. There have been more accidents lately because students are not crossing the street appropriately. These laws need to be strongly enforced more for anyone who is walking around the streets during all times. It could also be the driver’s fault when they are under the influence of some substance. Point is, law enforcement needs to focus more on this subject.
A solution to this problem can be using the crosswalks that were made to be used. Obeying all traffic laws will also be of help to everyone. People need to be more careful when they are driving and always look everywhere. Nobody should be a victim of any accidents like these. The public needs to pay more attention to these types of things.