What happens to an Olympian who tests positive for COVID-19 before Beijing?

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Fourteen members of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton tested positive for COVID-19 at a World Cup in Latvia, with 13 announced yesterday and an additional case today. The outbreak comes days after American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin announced she had tested positive as well.

Meanwhile, the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials were called off on Sunday due to positive tests among athletes, while Hockey Canada delayed the announcement of its Olympic women's team and cancelled a pair of exhibitions against the U.S. for the same reason. 

The athletes' top priority is obviously their health, but even with recovery the positive tests pose a significant hurdle to their participation — and any other athlete who might be exposed — in the Beijing Olympics, scheduled to begin Feb. 4.

The issue is the Olympics' COVID-19 playbook — the protocols established by the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee that allow athletes, staff and media entry into China.

Those who recover from the virus within 30 days of departure for China must produce two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart and at least eight days before leaving for the Olympics, plus two more on separate days within 96 hours of boarding the plane. Those final two negative tests are mandatory for all athletes. One more test must be taken by all at the airport upon arrival in Beijing.

This is the position in which some Canadian bobsleigh hopefuls now find themselves — many of whom are on the brink of Olympic qualification. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton told CBC Sports it hopes to have more clarity next week on how the team selection process will be affected. It said other countries have suggested the international sport governing body use fewer races than normal to determine qualification.

It's unclear when the affected athletes, who are currently in quarantine, may return to competition. The next World Cup takes place next weekend in Germany and the Canadians are scheduled to return home following the final World Cup of the season in Switzerland in the middle of January. Read more about the Canadian bobsleigh outbreak here.

The timeline to the Olympics is already tight, with the first Canadian charter flight set to depart for Beijing on Jan. 26. It could mean an athlete who tests positive as soon as next week simply runs out of time to submit all the necessary documentation and testing to be granted entry to China. 

Normally, the next month would be full of various Olympic qualification events both national and international. But it's worth wondering now how many of those will, or even should, move forward. 

Canada's figure skating championships begin next Friday, and the calculus for holding the event now looks something like this: is a possible virus outbreak worth risking the mere presence of Canadian figure skaters in Beijing?

National sport organizations such as Skate Canada must submit their teams to the Canadian Olympic Committee by Jan. 19, with all entries sent to Beijing organizers five days later.

Given the overload of testing worldwide right now, there may even be questions about the capacity in certain countries to turn around results in that final 96-hour window before athletes go to China.

Once athletes reach Beijing, they're tested daily — but one positive result could be enough to knock them from their competition entirely.