The head of the Netherlands Olympic delegation has revealed their team have been issued with strict instructions to combat potential COVID-19 concerns at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.
Members of the Dutch speed skating team were pictured arriving in Italy on Monday, with Jenning de Boo and Femke Kok pictured wearing face masks at the airport.
The pair are reigning world champions in the 500m speed skating events and will head into the Winter Olympics as leading contenders to win gold.
The Netherlands Chef de Mission, Carl Verheijen, was asked about their decision to wear masks.
Verheijen explained that it came as part of precautionary measures to protect against possible Covid-19 cases, which could disrupt their potential success at the Games.
The official stated that athletes had been instructed not to shake hands, while noting they could escalate matters further should cases emerge.
'Away with the coronavirus rules? We're still completely on top of things,' Verheijen told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
'We're currently in phase 2, and if anything really happens, we can scale up to phase 3 or 4.'
'We're not shaking hands anymore, but we're giving fist bumps.
'We're wearing face masks in crowded areas and making sure we wash and disinfect our hands thoroughly.'
The stance comes despite only the Australian Olympic Committee reporting two positive cases amongst their staff, which they stressed would not impact their build-up to the Games.
The cases were confirmed at the Australian Institute of Sport's European Training Centre (ETC) in Gavirate, about an hour's drive from Milan, on Sunday.
The individuals, who won't be competing at the 25th edition of the winters, were symptomatic and tested positive on January 28 and 31, with measures in place to contain any possible spread of infection.
Chief de Mission and former aerial skier Alisa Camplin stated that no Australian athletes due to compete at the Games had tested positive.
'The Australian Winter Olympic team has medical protocols in place for any infectious disease or illness and are standard operating procedures for high-performance environments which are being followed,' Camplin said.
'Such protocols have been in place for past Olympics, including the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
'Alternative plans have been put into place for those scheduled to arrive at the ETC over the next 48 hours.'
Close contacts of the two positive cases were immediately tested with negative results and administered anti-virals.
While the Dutch response could be viewed as an overreaction ahead of the Games, which begin on Friday, several cases were record at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Adam Peaty was among around 40 athletes to reportedly test positive at the Games, with the British swimmer's positive test confirmed a day after he had won silver in the men's 100m breaststroke, missing out on a third successive gold in the event.
Peaty had admitted to feeling unwell ahead of his event.
American sprinter Noah Lyles, who won the men's 100m, finished third in his favoured 200m later in the Games before revealing he had tested positive for Covid.
There had not been strict COVID-19 rules at Paris 2024, but numerous teams had implemented their own protocols including hand hygiene and keeping space from other competitors in order to reduce risks around infection.
By contrast, strict rules had been in place at both the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, with the latter operating with a 'closed loop' with the Games taking place in a bubble.
Daily testing had occurred at the Games, with several medal contenders ruled out of their events having been confirmed to have tested positive for COVID.
