Italian National Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò tests positive for COVID-19 in Beijing

Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malagò has tested positive for COVID-19 in Beijing. He initially tested positive from a test at his hotel. Although he is completely asymptomatic, he has been sent to isolate in a dedicated IOC building in Beijing.

The CONI said in a statement, “President Malagò, who is totally asymptomatic, was isolated under medical observation in a dedicated facility, where there are already other members of the IOC, according to the rules set out in the IOC Playbook in order to protect the other participants in the Games and the Chinese population.”

The 62-year-old Malagò is the also the president and head of the organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Malagò joins a growing list of Olympic Committee members in isolation or unable to attend the IOC session set to meet Thursday in Beijing. Others include: Dániel Gyurta of Hungary, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and Athletes’ Commission chair Emma Terho. International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons was unable to travel to China after testing positive for COVID-19.

Chinese authorities have said that the growing number of COVID-19 cases are within the “controllable range” and are optimistic that the zero tolerance measures put in place will be effective.