Measures to be taken to prevent Ebola infiltration in Olympics - official

MOSCOW, August 11 (Itar-Tass) - Organizers of second Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing will take measures necessary to prevent Ebola virus infiltration, Russian Deputy Minister of Sports and Olympic fencing champion Pavel Kolobkov said on Monday. “There are some concerns about this fever but this does not affect sport events, or, to be precise, this affects them as much as any person in the world,” he said adding athletes would get full medical assistance from qualified doctors if needed. It was yet unclear whether there would be any additional security control in Nanjing. “I know that China is a good competition organizer. There are certain security and medical requirements to major competitions”, and China would comply with all of them, Kolobkov said. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) press office earlier told Itar-Tass it observed the situation with Ebola infiltration together with the Chinese authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO). All national Olympic committees and international sports federations had been informed that the risk of infiltration was very low, and the IOC and the organizing committee took all precautions recommended, it said. On Friday, the WHO recognized the virus infiltration an international health emergency. According to the WHO latest data, the outbreak of deadly virus has killed 961. Three neighbouring countries in West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, are in the epicenter of the epidemic that broke out last December. Two deaths have also been recorded in Nigeria. The Second Summer Youth Olympic Games will take place in Nanjing on August 16 - 28. Athletes will compete in 222 disciplines across 34 sports. Russia will be represented by 84 athletes and 39 officials. Related news on itar-tass.com