US figure skater Vincent Zhou took to Instagram to say he was not allowed to march in Sunday’s Closing Ceremony because he was flagged as a Covid “close contact risk.”
Zhou tested positive for Covid on Tuesday, February 7, and missed competing in the men’s single skating short program competition.
“I have tested negative 14 times in a row. I have antibodies and am not contagious whatsoever. I am 100% healthy and normal. I am double masked and would be walking outdoors with the same people I am about to travel with in a couple of hours. I would be the least at risk of transmitting to others,” Zhou wrote on his personal Instagram account.
Zhou, who skated in the Exhibition Gala earlier in the day, also wrote that he was required to take off his mask while on the ice with 40 other people during the gala.
“But it seems that being double masked outdoors is riskier,” he added.
“I have followed the rules and done as required with no question for as long as the rules have existed.”
The official Playbook for the Beijing Olympic games states that athletes who return to the Games after a period of isolation due to Covid will be “asked to adopt additional countermeasures that apply to close contacts.”
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated figure skater Vincent Zhou’s affiliation. He skates for the US.
