Axios
Beijing Olympics organizers and Chinese authorities have lowered the threshold for producing a negative COVID-19 test for participants arriving to participate in the Winter Games, CBC reported on Sunday.
Catch up quick: Organizers for the Beijing Games had instituted testing standards tougher than those used by many sports leagues in the U.S. and Europe, per the Wall Street Journal.
- The disparity prompted concerns that athletes could test negative in their home countries after recently recovering from COVID-19, but still test positive upon their arrival in China, per the Journal.
The big picture: Cycle thresholds (Ct) indicate how much magnification is needed to detect COVID-19, so higher Ct values correspond with less infectiousness.
- The NBA and NHL use a Ct of 30, while the NFL has a Ct of 35, per CBC.
- Beijing Olympics organizers and Chinese authorities have now lowered their threshold for participants from 40 to 35, making it easier for athletes to test negative, per CBC.
