By: Sara Li

Commonwealth Games athletes have a machine in Birmingham that can keep them infection-free. This shoebox-sized machine is called the Biofire machine and was first used at the Tokyo Olympics and can do PCR tests for 45 infections, including COVID-19, the flu, the common cold, and gastro. Its results can come back within 45 minutes, which allows athletes exposed to be either cleared or isolated within an hour.

This is an essential advancement because this can allow people to detect the infection easier and allow the infection-free athletes to continue training and compete. “Keeping people infection-free can be the difference between no medal and a gold medal,” said David Hughes, the Australian Institute of Sport chief medical officer.

During the 2016 Rio Olympics, 94 Australian athletes tested positive for respiratory illnesses, 35 had gastro, and some ended up in the hospital, Dr. Hughes said. In Tokyo, these machines and strict infection protocols on mask wearing and handwashing have allowed Australia’s Olympic team to be almost infection free. Another wise decision included having outdoor barista stations and barbecues, which resulted in the Aussie competitors being in the open air when socializing, which reduces the risk of infection.

The machine has greatly improved the atmosphere at the Commonwealth Games. “We were able to take in a team of 1000 people, which was one of the largest teams in Tokyo, and no one missed a training session, no one failed to compete,” Dr. Hughes said. “We got them in and out of Tokyo without a single Covid case.”

Now, with two highly infectious COVID-19 sub-variants being exposed worldwide, athletes are more afraid of being infected and unable to compete in the West Midlands in England. Unlike the Tokyo Olympics, the Commonwealth Games will be an open house with no restrictions with people going in and out of pubs and cafes.

Fortunately, these machines are very helpful in preventing the spread of diseases. “I’ve heard figures thrown around that a gold medal often takes about a million dollars of investment over four to eight years, so I think it was worth every cent,” Dr. Hughes said.

Source: Kidsnews.com | Shoebox-sized machine holds the key to keeping athletes Covid clear