The Swiss Olympic team has confirmed on Friday that two of their freestyle skiers are first athletes, who became the victims of a highly contagious norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.
According to Reuters, until Friday there were rumours that more than 200 people have been confirmed to have the norovirus and most of the affected people are security staff and Games personnel.
Even though a spokesperson from Swiss team said that one of the affected athletes was 20-year-old Fabian Boesch, he did not agree to reveal the other person's name.
The Spokesman mentioned, "Everyone else is safe. We did everything we could. We took them away from the rest of the team and now they have to recover."
Earlier Bosch posted a video where he was seen to riding an escalator in Pyeongchang while grabbing it from outside with his right hand. The athlete rode the rail to the top before reaching the top and pulling himself back on the platform.
According to the Swiss team, the athletes were affected by the virus a few days ago but now the symptoms are almost gone and they have a potential to compete.
Swiss Olympics said in a statement that affected athletes were taken to a single room and not in touch with any other athletes.
They also mentioned to clarify that athletes who were found the victim of norovirus, "are allowed to compete if they are in good physical health, have been tested by the Swiss medical team, take all precautionary measures and the IOC has been consulted."
Earlier on Friday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that two Swiss skiers were not staying at Olympic village with other competitors in South Korea.
The world Olympics governing body said that they were 'unwell' but they are hoping that these athletes would be able to compete in upcoming events in Pyeongchang.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported that till Feb 12 there were 194 cases of norovirus have been confirmed and about 1,200 Olympic workers had to be taken off the job.
However, the symptoms of norovirus usually surface between 12 hours and two days after exposure. This disease, known as the most common cause of diarrhea in the world, also causes vomiting, stomach pain, fever, nausea, and body aches.
