A further 32 cases of COVID-19 have been reported by Beijing 2022 ©Getty Images

Eleven people linked to the Winter Olympics here have been hospitalised after contracting COVID-19, it has been announced by Beijing 2022 organisers.

Dr Brian McCloskey, chair of the Beijing 2022 Medical Expert Panel, confirmed that the infected individuals had been taken to hospital after experiencing a symptom but none were considered to be seriously ill.

The news comes after latest figures released by Beijing 2022 revealed a further 32 cases associated with the Games.

Among the figure include nine athletes and team officials with 23 cases coming from other Games personnel.

A total of 17 of the 32 cases were identified within the closed-loop system, while the others have come from testing at Beijing Capital International Airport.

The latest daily tally of cases is higher than the previous day as organisers continue to grapple with the spread of COVID-19 with just two days to go until the Games are due to open.

According to Beijing 2022, a total of 232 people have tested positive for coronavirus since January 23 when the organisers' "closed-loop management system", which separates Games participants and the local population, came into operation.

Two unnamed members of Sweden's Alpine skiing team are among the latest to test positive for COVID-19 ©Getty Images
Two unnamed members of Sweden's Alpine skiing team are among the latest to test positive for COVID-19 ©Getty Images

"The vast majority of people who have tested positive are well, a lot of them are asymptomatic," said McCloskey, formerly the director of global health for Public Health England and who was involved in health planning for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London

"There have been 11 people hospitalised, because they had a symptom but none of those are seriously ill in anyway."

Two members of Sweden’s Alpine skiing team are among the latest to test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.

The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) confirmed the two new cases but refused to name the infected individuals.

In-form giant slalom skier Sara Hector and fellow medal hope Anna Swenn-Larsson were among those on board the plane from Stockholm to Beijing.

But it has been reported that Hector, a medallist in the past five giant slalom races, and 2019 world medallist Swenn-Larsson both tested negative.

Hector leads the World Cup standings in the discipline by almost 100 points and is expected to challenge reigning Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin  of the United States for the gold in Beijing.

The Norwegian Olympic Committee also confirmed that two unnamed members of the team's delegation tested positive after coming off the same plane as the Swedish skiers.

Both Norway and Sweden have already been hit by COVID-19 cases, including Swedish cross-country skier Leo Johansson.




Johansson recorded two positive tests upon arrival, despite returning six negative results prior to leaving for China, according to the SOK.

Norwegian cross-country skiers Heidi Weng and Anne Kjersti Kalvå tested positive last week, with the latter having now been replaced by Ragnhild Haga.

Double Olympic gold-medallist Simen Hegstad Krüger of Norway will be unable to defend his 30 kilometres skiathlon title after contracting the virus. 

Another athlete to test positive after arriving in China was Swiss snowboarder Nicolas Huber.

The 27-year-old who is set to compete in the men's slopestyle, reportedly has no symptoms and will undergo further COVID-19 testing having been confined to his room.

Canadian figure skater Keegan Messing is also awaiting the results of two tests to enable him to travel to Beijing.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has confirmed that one of its 414-member delegation in the Chinese capital are subject to COVID-19 protocols.