BEIJING (Reuters) -Germany’s Nordic combined skiers Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday, have tested positive for COVID-19 following a series of re-tests, the German team said on Friday.
Frenzel, who has won three Olympic gold medals and six medals in total, and Weber had initially tested positive along with four other German athletes. The other four, however, were cleared following re-tests.
“Team Germany on Friday afternoon received confirmation of two further COVID-19 cases,” the team said in a statement. “Tests for Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber confirmed their results initially taken at the airport.”
“The four other suspected cases which were in the skeleton and ice hockey teams were not confirmed (positive) following two re-tests.”
German figure skater Nolan Seegert is in isolation after he tested positive, forcing Germany to drop out of the figure skating pairs in the team event.
A number of athletes have already been ruled out of the Feb. 4-20 Games after testing positive on arrival at the airport.
Organisers have said so far 287 Games participants, which includes athletes, coaches, officials, media and organising staff, had tested positive in Beijing.
A total of 610,000 tests had been conducted until Thursday.
Athletes who want to return to competition and training will need to be without symptoms and provide two negative tests 24 hours apart to be released from isolation.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Toby Davis)
