Olympians Are Getting A Tough First Look At What Happens When They Test Positive In Beijing

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are officially underway, and COVID-19 is already starting to crash the party.

Several foreign athletes have already tested positive for the virus after arriving in China, and it sounds like they're having a tough time with the country's rigid response plan.

According to the official playbook provided to athletes, those who test positive will be taken to an isolation hotel or hospital and kept there until their symptoms improve. If their body temperature returns to normal for three days and two PCR tests taken 24 hours apart come back negative, they will be discharged from isolation.

Athletes who are asymptomatic will be isolated and tested every day. Once they get two consecutive negative PCR tests, taken at least 24 hours apart, they will be discharged.

It's a tough timeline that could spoil a few Olympic dreams, and those who've tested positive say the protocols are no joke.

Elana Meyers Taylor, a bobsledder for Team USA, tested positive when she got to Beijing. She shared the news on her Instagram but stayed optimistic that she would be able to still compete.

"This is just the latest obstacle that my family and I have faced on this journey, so I'm remaining optimistic that I'll be able to recover quickly and still have the opportunity to compete," wrote Taylor.

Kim Meylemans, a skeleton racer from Belgium, also tested positive when she arrived in China. Having previously had COVID-19, as a precaution, Meylemans took 12 PCR tests during the two weeks leading up to the Games. She was shocked when she found out she tested positive.

Meylemans says she was isolated for three days and tested negative, but when she thought she was being transported back to the Olympic Village, she was instead taken to an isolation facility. Meylemans shared an emotional video on her Instagram, not knowing if she would be able to compete.

"This is very hard for me. I ask you all to give me some time to consider my next steps because I am not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition while being in this isolation," said Meylemans in her video.

China is taking a strict approach to the Games, with lots of testing and isolation rules in place to ensure that there are no outbreaks.

Athletes have been told to limit interaction with each other outside of competition — especially in the Athletes' Village, where Olympians are known to do a lot more than hang out together on their off days.