COVID-19 Creates New Experience for Olympic Athletes 完賽48小時內須離境 後勤挑戰更甚以往

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee enacted strict disease prevention measures for athletes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. One of the regulations was that athletes could only go between the Athletes' Village and competition venues. Another was that they had to take saliva antigen tests every day. Athletes had to depart Japan within 48 hours of their last competition.
 

Athletes participating in the 2020 Olympics were only allowed to go between the Athletes' Village and competition venues. Chinese Taipei's athletes conducted basic training at the village, and also made sure to spend as little time in the dining halls as possible. They picked up their food and returned to their rooms to eat.

Voice of Lin Yu-ting, Chinese Taipei Olympic Boxer："We're now entering our dining hall. They're going to check our credentials."

Everything the athletes needed was available in the village. Alcohol was also readily available everywhere for people to disinfect their hands. Chinese Taipei's athletes tried to avoid contact with others and spent most of their time in their rooms. They also had to spit out saliva every day for an antigen test.

Voice of Chen Kuei-ru, Chinese Taipei Olympic Hurdler："This is the test tube where we have to provide our saliva for sampling every day. You're tested every day during your stay, and you have to provide your saliva every day."

Athletes had to undergo daily saliva antigen tests. They said they thought this would be an easy process, but it didn't turn out that way.

Lin Yu-ting, Chinese Taipei Olympic Boxer："The weather in Japan is blistering hot and I also have to control my weight, so I'm a little dehydrated and when I spit, only bubbles come out."

Chen Kuei-ru, Chinese Taipei Olympic Hurdler："It's actually quite difficult to spit sometimes. One time, it took me 30 minutes to fill up the test tube because I woke up that morning with a dry mouth and they told us that we couldn't drink water or brush our teeth beforehand, so it was actually quite troublesome."

Athletes were only allowed to compete if they were healthy. There was also a regulation that athletes had to depart Japan within 48 hours of their last competition. The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee had to act quickly whenever an athlete finished competing. The first thing it had to do was getting the negative PCR test certificate.

Dep. Secretary-General, Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee："We had to arrange for plane tickets and testing, as well as obtain negative PCR test certificates. We had to complete all this work first before we could confirm that they could board the plane and return to Taiwan."

The committee said these Olympic Games were more logistically challenging than in the past due to Japan's disease prevention regulations and Taiwan's entry requirements, and they cannot relax until all athletes and coaches complete their quarantine requirements.

被限制只能在選手村和比賽場館移動，台灣選手們在村內，除了簡單練習，最常做的就是快閃餐廳，取食回房。

東奧女子拳擊隊選手 林郁婷表示：「現在要進來的是我們的餐廳，他們會檢查我們的識別證。」

選手村裡一應俱全，而且走到哪都有酒精消毒手部，但台灣選手們知道要減少群聚和接觸，多半待在房間，而且有件事很重要，就是每天必須＂吐口水＂。

東奧田徑隊男子跨欄選手 陳奎儒表示：「這是我們每天要採樣唾液的試管，來幾天，就要採樣幾天，然後每天要把唾液送到團(本部)。」

每天都要進行唾液抗原檢測，選手們說，原本以為很簡單，結果，卻不是這麼一回事。

東奧女子拳擊隊選手 林郁婷表示：「日本其實還滿炎熱的，再加上那時候，其實有點在控制體重，其實有點脫水的狀態，就是吐出來全都是泡沫。」

東奧田徑隊男子跨欄選手 陳奎儒表示：「其實很難吐，就是有時候，有一次還用了30分鐘，才把它裝到滿(指定容量)。因為早上起來，也是嘴巴很乾，然後他又說，不能先喝水，或是刷牙再用，所以就很麻煩。」

確認健康才能出賽，但賽果未如預期或賽事結束，奧組委規定，48小時之內得離境，這時，團本部得儘速在選手村內，申請協助取得PCR的陰性證明。

中華奧會副秘書長 吳國譽表示：「在這些無論是機位，還是檢測(在選手村)排上了，並且拿到陰性證明，這些工作全部完成之後，才能夠確認，他可以搭機返台。」

因應日本防疫和台灣入境防疫，團本部坦言，此次奧運的後勤挑戰更甚以往，而沒到所有選手教練都居檢期滿，健康出關前，一刻都不敢放鬆。