Winning an Olympic Gold medal requires an athlete to be at the top of their game – but when a competitor has Covid-19, they are unlikely to perform at their best.
Noah Lyles, who won Gold in the men’s 100m event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, knows this only too well after missing out on victory in Thursday’s 200m final.
After claiming bronze, the 27-year-old American track star revealed that he had, earlier in the week, tested positive for coronavirus, something that may have affected his performance.
Lyles’ diagnosis, and that of dozens of other Olympic competitors, highlights a summer rise in cases that has affected much of the world, including the United States and many countries in Europe.
It follows reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which said coronavirus case numbers are increasing in more than 80 nations.
What is happening with infection numbers?
In a press conference in Geneva this week, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist with the WHO, indicated that multiple positive cases among athletes were to be expected given the virus' overall prevalence.
"It’s not surprising to see athletes being infected because … the virus is circulating quite rampantly in other countries,” she said.
There have been forecasts that this year could mean the largest summer surge of Covid-19 cases in the US so far, with analysis of wastewater reportedly indicating much higher levels of the coronavirus than in 2023.
Numerous European countries have also been reporting large numbers to the WHO, as have Malaysia and New Zealand, although with testing rates much lower, such reported case numbers may be a less reliable guide to how much SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is in circulation in a particular nation.
Prof Eskild Petersen, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and chairman of the emerging diseases task force of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, told The National that his home country had seen a summer surge, although "it’s fading now”.
As with the US, he said it was wastewater analysis that indicated that case numbers were rising.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said that since the coronavirus has become endemic, it continues to have "dual seasonality”, with two peaks – one in autumn and winter and the other in summer.
One factor behind the summer peak could be that when the weather is very hot, people spend more time indoors with the windows closed and air conditioning on, making the spread of the virus easier.
The background number of cases in the summer of influenza is likely to be lower, so there is less opportunity for flu cases to multiply.
Experts think it is too early to say whether the Covid-19 summer peaks will continue to occur or if the disease will, like influenza, end up with a single annual peak in winter.
Is the number of deaths rising?
What distinguishes the current surge in cases from some of those earlier in the pandemic, Prof Petersen said, is that the rise has not resulted in a large increase in the number of people falling seriously ill. "There’s not been any surge in mortality or hospital admissions that we can measure,” said Prof Petersen, who is a former editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Immunity generated by having had Covid-19 previously and from vaccination is helping to protect most people from severe effects, Prof Petersen said.
This immunity can be either from antibodies, which tends not to be long-lasting, or it can be cell-based immunity, which typically is longer lasting but which does not prevent infection.
When speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dr Van Kerkhove said that, as well as protection from past infection and vaccination, better treatments and testing, too, were preventing serious illness.
Prof Petersen said that even in parts of the world where vaccination roll-outs had not been comprehensive, levels of immunity were still likely to be high as a result of repeated previous infections.
He said that in parts of tropical Africa, for example, vaccination rates may be low, but many people will have had previous infections.
Also, he said that the fact that a smaller proportion of the population is elderly is another factor that reduces the impact, given that older people are more vulnerable if infected.
"In places like Africa, with a young population, it’s an even less serious problem,” he said.
Should people still be concerned about Covid-19?
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK, said that while vaccination in particular was offering protection, "repeated infections with this virus are not good for your health”.
He advised people to follow advice that Japan has made for several years of avoiding the three Cs, which are closed spaces, crowded places and close contact with others.
"You will be improving your health and well-being,” he said. "When you’re invited [to have a vaccine] make sure you take it, especially if you’re in a vulnerable group.”
Despite hospital cases not having surged significantly this summer, elderly people and individuals with disabilities remain at increased risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 when compared to the general population.
Updated vaccines that are more tailored to the main variants circulating are continuing to become available.
A group of variants known as FLiRT, which have separately accumulated the same mutations in the spike protein of the virus, have become common in recent months.
While some Olympic athletes have been competing even while infected, Dr Pankhania said that a more cautious approach was advisable.
"I think you have a duty of care not to infect your fellow athletes,” he said.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The biog
Age: 35
Inspiration: Wife and kids
Favourite book: Changes all the time but my new favourite is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Best Travel Destination: Bora Bora , French Polynesia
Favourite run: Jabel Hafeet, I also enjoy running the 30km loop in Al Wathba cycling track
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Jawan
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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