Wednesday January 12, 2022
“Nobody does in Germany”
China’s corona tests make tobogganing hole nervous
In China, a different limit value applies to corona tests than in Germany. That worries Felix Loch. The toboggan runner was recently infected himself and is now afraid of missing the Winter Olympics because of a positive test. The IOC is already dealing with the issue.
The corona test strategy for the Olympic Winter Games is also causing Felix Loch a major headache – the record-breaking luge world champion fears a “rude awakening” after his arrival in Beijing. The background to this is a corona infection from December that has long since been overcome, which, due to the much more sensitive tests in China, could still provide a positive result weeks later. “So if I have negative tests in Germany and get on the plane, but then get tested positive there, I go to quarantine as soon as I arrive,” said Loch: “This is a brutally difficult topic for me.”
The different determination of the CT value is problematic. The higher this is, the lower the viral load. While those tested in Germany are no longer contagious from a value of 30, the benchmark in China is 40. It is “madness the way they are tested there,” said Loch: “Nobody in Germany or Europe does that anymore.”
The German association BSD is therefore working with its doctors to secure the hole before the trip. “In my very special case, the doctors and our laboratories are looking for a solution so that tests are carried out just as hard as the Chinese,” said Loch: “If I go there, I don’t want to have a rude awakening. Then I’d rather stay at home and don’t put me in one of those quarantine hotels. “
Dirk Schimmelpfennig, Board Member for Competitive Sport in the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), recently announced a fundamental solution to this issue. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk he expressed his hope that the CT value would be reduced to a range of “around 35 to 32” during the games (February 4th to 20th). Corresponding discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would take place. But one is bound to the requirements of the Chinese health authorities.