During the past four days China has detected 119 COVID-19 cases among athletes and personnel involved in the Beijing Winter Olympics, with authorities imposing a "closed loop" bubble to keep participants, staff and media separated from the public.
The tally from the weekend showed 37 new cases on Sunday, and 34 on Saturday, with most testing positive after arrival at the airport, Games organizers said on Monday.
Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova said her own Olympic ambitions were over after testing positive twice following her arrival in Beijing, one of three Russian positive tests announced on Monday.
"Unfortunately, my Olympic dream will remain just a dream," Vasnetsova wrote on social media. "Maybe one day I will find the strength to rise again but it will be a completely different story."
Eight athletes or team officials were among 28 people who had tested positive on arrival at the airport on Sunday.
International Olympic Committee member Emma Terho, who heads the IOC's athletes commission, also tested positive and said she has been in isolation since the weekend.
"Even though this is not the start I envisaged, I was happy to see the protocols that Beijing 2022 has put in place are working well," Terho, a retired Finnish ice hockey player, said on social media.
The cases have set off alarm bells among athletes concerned their competition could be over before it even starts after having prepared meticulously for years.
"You're like just so stressed about making sure you're as safe as you can be," American luger Chris Mazdzer said. "Yet at the same time, there's no way to be 100 per cent safe.
"There have been a lot of athletes that are testing positive right now and it's scary because you put in four years since the last Games and f or all of that to go to waste in the last week, last couple of days, it would be a tragedy," he told reporters.
Some 3,000 athletes, along with coaches, officials, federation delegates and media are expected for the Feb. 4 to 20 Games.
The "closed loop" will allow them to move between accommodation and Olympic venues on official transport but they are not allowed out to move freely in public.
ZERO-TOLERANCE
In contrast to many countries seeking to live with COVID-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, canceling nearly all international flights.
An opinion piece in the People’s Daily -- the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper -- praised the work done to prepare for the Games and battle the spread of the virus.
"The epidemic and control measures of the Beijing Winter Olympics are the epitome of China’s successful experience in fighting the epidemic, and are also a focused demonstration of China’s spirit and China’s strength," it said.
Athletes have also been testing positive prior to their arrival in Beijing, with the world's leading women's ski jumper, Marita Kramer of Austria, rescheduling her departure in an effort to get healthy in time for her competition after testing positive in Germany.
Russian skeleton racers, Olympic silver medallist Nikita Tregubov and Vladislav Semyonov, will miss the Games after testing positive before setting off.
There was, however, good news for the Australian curling team after Tahli Gill returned two negative tests following an initial positive in the Chinese capital on Sunday.
Gill and team mate Dean Hewitt had been in isolation for two days.
"We have treated this time as a rest day and a time to really focus on our Olympic goals," the pair said in a statement.
A U.S.-based food manufacturer that supplies frozen waffles to major grocery chains across North America has launched a voluntary recall over concerns its products carry the potential for illness.
An Indigenous senator told King Charles III that Australia is not his land as the royal visited Australia's parliament on Monday.
It was a typical Wednesday evening for Noland Keaulana, who was fixing his truck at his grandparents’ house when he received an alert on his phone about a 17-year-old missing off the Honolulu coast.
Cuba's widespread blackouts stretched into their fourth day as Hurricane Oscar crossed the island's eastern coast with winds and heavy rain.
High grocery and rental costs are squeezing lower-income Canadians even as inflation trends downward, a new survey suggests.
A cat rescue southwest of Ottawa is under investigation after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records have surface.
After waiting 15 years, Canadian Abousfian Abdelrazik will finally get the chance to hold the federal government accountable for its alleged complicity which led to his imprisonment and torture in Sudan.
Mounties say a search is underway for an avid outdoorsman who has disappeared in the wilderness of northern British Columba.
Angry residents attacked a railway guard and his post in a town outside Cairo on Monday after a train ran over and killed two children crossing a train intersection that was closed to pedestrians, officials said.
A cat rescue southwest of Ottawa is under investigation after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records have surface.
A sentencing hearing will resume today for the Saskatchewan man who withheld his seven-year-old daughter from her mother for more than 100 days in 2021 and 2022 in an attempt to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
A 25-year-old Hamilton man who was shot after letting a six-year-old child play with his gun is facing charges, police say. That’s just one incident in what Hamilton police say has been a record year for shootings in the city.
High grocery and rental costs are squeezing lower-income Canadians even as inflation trends downward, a new survey suggests.
Ontario's provincial parliament will be a hive of activity today, as the legislature resumes sitting following a 19-week summer break.
A Durham police officer has been charged criminally after he allegedly failed to render medical assistance to a person in distress.
Members of the 'Central Park Five' sued former President Donald Trump on Monday over "false and defamatory" statements they allege he made about their 1989 case during a presidential debate last month.
Eight people were confirmed dead and almost 20 missing after a boat whose passengers included villagers fleeing from fighting in Myanmar capsized in the Andaman Sea, a rescue worker and local media said Monday.
Jury selection began Monday in the criminal trial of the U.S. Marine Corps veteran charged with manslaughter for placing a man in a deadly chokehold on a New York City subway train last year.
South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Elon Musk has already committed at least US$70 million to help Donald Trump win the 2024 U.S. election. Now he's pledging to give away US$1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee's petition backing the U.S. Coinstitution.
The presidential race in North Carolina is playing out in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and alongside a governor's race in which the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, has seen his campaign collapse amid multiple controversies, potentially splintering GOP unity.
The House of Commons returns today from a week-long break, but it's unlikely to be business as usual.
India's High Commissioner to Canada denies any involvement in the murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot and killed in B.C. last year.
India's high commissioner to Canada — who has been expelled from the country — says while the economic relationship between Canada and India will likely be preserved, the political one is now characterized by 'mistrust.'
A U.S.-based food manufacturer that supplies frozen waffles to major grocery chains across North America has launched a voluntary recall over concerns its products carry the potential for illness.
The University Health Network (UHN) is making masks mandatory as respiratory illness season ramps up.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says it is unacceptable that home care and palliative patients in the province are facing shortages of supplies they need, and she is working to have it rectified.
In the fight against cyber attackers, they reason AI can help just as much as it harms.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that – and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.
A Newfoundland scientist known for identifying a gelatinous, rancid mass that washed up on the island's shores decades ago is hoping to get his hands on a slice of the strange white globs appearing on the province's beaches.
London’s Hyde Park was one of the several sites around the world this weekend for an outpouring of love, grief and recollection in honor of Liam Payne, the former One Direction boy band member who tragically fell to his death at a hotel in Buenos Aires last week at the age of 31.
Jennifer Lawrence will soon be a mom of two. The Oscar-winning actress is pregnant with her second child, a representative for Lawrence told Vogue on Sunday.
The Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan will be the subject of a forthcoming documentary on Prime Video, which is slated to debut sometime next year.
Nearly six months after its opening, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is boosting Canada's energy sector as promised — but questions still linger about who will pay for the project's massive cost overruns.
High grocery and rental costs are squeezing lower-income Canadians even as inflation trends downward, a new survey suggests.
The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
The retired elementary teachers, Tony and Francine Smarrelli, originally from Syracuse, New York, resolved to leave the U.S. and move to Italy for good. They say they’ve cut back nearly US$3,000 per month on expenses, which amounts to US$36,000 a year, since moving there permanently.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Mats Sundin registered 420 goals and put up 987 points in his 981 regular-season games with Toronto. Star centre and current captain Auston Matthews, who scored an outrageous 69 times in 2023-24, sat just 50 goals back heading into Monday's action.
The New York Liberty finally have a WNBA championship after beating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night.
Jordan Eberle scored 48 seconds into overtime and the Seattle Kraken beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night.
An increased risk of fire has prompted the recall of thousands of Honda hybrid vehicles in Canada.
The U.S. government's road safety agency is investigating Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.
Canada’s border guards have seized more than 1,900 stolen cars so far this year at railyards and ports, which is over a hundred more than in 2023.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that – and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.
A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.
A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the ‘Fellow in Yellow.’
John Cantin vividly remembers opening day for his Victoria diner. Stress levels were high, tables were full, and one of the most popular menu items couldn’t be freed from the unyielding grip of the waffle maker.
A Manitoba professor is warning the public after a book on regional mushrooms that he suspects is AI-generated was delisted from Amazon.
A B.C. judge has issued a decision in a years-long dispute between neighbours that began with a noise complaint over barking dogs, crowing roosters and quacking ducks – awarding $15,000 in damages to the plaintiffs in the case.
A police investigation is underway after a cyclist was struck and killed by a pickup truck while participating in an organized bicycle race on Vancouver Island.
Mounties say a search is underway for an avid outdoorsman who has disappeared in the wilderness of northern British Columba.
The atmospheric river event that brought heavy downpours and flooding to B.C.’s South Coast over the weekend has come to an end, but not before smashing a number of records.
The University Health Network (UHN) is making masks mandatory as respiratory illness season ramps up.
A Durham police officer has been charged criminally after he allegedly failed to render medical assistance to a person in distress.
A 25-year-old Hamilton man who was shot after letting a six-year-old child play with his gun is facing charges, police say. That’s just one incident in what Hamilton police say has been a record year for shootings in the city.
Three people were sent to hospital following a crash on Peigan Trail Monday morning.
The City of Calgary says road crews are preparing for Monday's snowfall.
Snowfall warnings have been issued along the foothills with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow expected throughout the day Monday.
A cat rescue southwest of Ottawa is under investigation after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records have surface.
As federal employees head into the office three days a week under the federal government's new hybrid work model, the City of Ottawa is only requiring its hybrid employees to be in the office a minimum of two days a week.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the City of Ottawa is taking a "couple of important steps" to reduce heavy truck traffic in the village of Manotick, including banning transport trucks on a section of Manotick Main Street immediately.
A 65-year-old Repentigny man is facing charges after allegedly drunkenly firing a shotgun in his apartment and injuring a young woman who was sleeping in her bed two floors above.
Home renovation experts and Hydro-Quebec said homeowners can take a number of steps to decrease their consumption and save money over the winter.
Opponents of the proposed Lac-Megantic rail bypass have a petition in hand and want a new environmental assessment.
Edmonton Public Schools support workers will go on strike on Thursday.
A Stony Plain basketball coach has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.
Police in Fort McMurray are investigating after a teepee in front of a local school was vandalized.
New Brunswickers will cast their votes today in what is predicted to be a tight provincial election.
Halifax Regional Police say they are on scene after a sudden death at a Walmart on Mumford Road Saturday night.
The Serious Incident Response Team says they have charged an RCMP officer after finding reasonable grounds to believe he was involved in the theft of evidence.
A 13-year-old boy has been seriously injured in a shooting in northern Manitoba.
Winnipeg Central Mosque was broken into early Sunday morning.
A U.S.-based food manufacturer that supplies frozen waffles to major grocery chains across North America has launched a voluntary recall over concerns its products carry the potential for illness.
A sentencing hearing will resume today for the Saskatchewan man who withheld his seven-year-old daughter from her mother for more than 100 days in 2021 and 2022 in an attempt to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
SaskPower is warning customers of an email scam currently making the rounds.
The Regina Thunder have beaten their provincial rivals, the Saskatoon Hilltops, to take the Prairie Football Conference Final (PFC) for the second time in three years.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region says one in eight households in the region is struggling to afford food this year.
A Waterloo, Ont. man is sharing video of a recent encounter with a stranger to give others an idea of the hate he experiences in the community.
Three people from Brantford are facing charges after 6.3 kilograms of cocaine was seized during search warrants at five southwestern Ontario locations.
A Saskatoon LGBTQ+ advocate says if the Saskatchewan Party's proposed change room policy had been in place when he was a kid, he would not have survived high school.
A sentencing hearing will resume today for the Saskatchewan man who withheld his seven-year-old daughter from her mother for more than 100 days in 2021 and 2022 in an attempt to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
SaskPower is warning customers of an email scam currently making the rounds.
A 29-year-old man believed to be carrying a loaded pistol is wanted on Manitoulin Island by Anishnaabe police who say they suspect he fled to Sagamok First Nation.
Two suspects are accused of assaulting and threatening a man with a baseball bat before stealing his wallet and cellphone, forcing him to sign a bill of sale for his vehicle.
A vehicle with a strong smell of cannabis on Frood Road caught the attention of patrol officers Sunday night and resulted in a drug bust worth nearly $50,000, police say.
Around 10 p.m. on Oct. 17, police said a teenaged girl met a man in the area of Clarke Road and Wavell Street. The two people struck up a conversation and walked together to the east side of a school in the area.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
OPP in Huron County are investigating a fatal crash. Just after 11 a.m. on Sunday, police said a passenger vehicle left the roadway on Airport Line and ended up in a field.
The unprecedented civilian court prosecution of a Canadian soldier accused of sexual assault and forcible confinement against a female military member while at Canadian Forces Base Borden in 2018 has gone to trial.
Police in Barrie arrested and charged a man accused of being a "habitual offender" for allegedly being involved in five thefts from the same store this month.
Officials say a candle caused a fire that destroyed a mobile trailer in Oro-Medonte early Friday morning.
Liberation Zone members, along with the University of Windsor Students Alliance, will hold a news conference Monday at 1 p.m.
Windsor police officers have arrested a suspect and seized four shotguns after an investigation.
LaSalle Fire Service announced the line of duty death a former firefighter after a prolonged illness, according to a social media post on Monday.
A police investigation is underway after a cyclist was struck and killed by a pickup truck while participating in an organized bicycle race on Vancouver Island.
The atmospheric river event that brought heavy downpours and flooding to B.C.’s South Coast over the weekend has come to an end, but not before smashing a number of records.
Mounties say a search is underway for an avid outdoorsman who has disappeared in the wilderness of northern British Columba.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
Calgary scored three times in the first, and three times in the third as the Hitmen defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-1 Saturday at the Saddledome.
The last students to graduate from Lethbridge College will make history this weekend as they cross the stage at fall convocation.
While the start to fall has seen above-average temperatures for much of southern Alberta, the first chance of winter is in the forecast for Monday evening, which has many in Lethbridge preparing.
Three young children were unhurt when a vehicle they were in crashed into a ditch Oct. 14 in Sandy Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario.
A 29-year-old man believed to be carrying a loaded pistol is wanted on Manitoulin Island by Anishnaabe police who say they suspect he fled to Sagamok First Nation.
A man from northwestern Ontario has his fishing licence suspended for three years and faces fines of $15,870 for illegally selling leeches and baitfish.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
A Newfoundland scientist known for identifying a gelatinous, rancid mass that washed up on the island's shores decades ago is hoping to get his hands on a slice of the strange white globs appearing on the province's beaches.
Facing a massive bill and a looming federal deadline, town officials in Conception Bay South, N.L. are turning to algae for water filtration help.
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