US figure skater Vincent Zhou barred from 2022 Olympics closing ceremony as ‘close contact’
US figure skater Vincent Zhou’s 2022 Olympics was cut short after testing positive for COVID-19. After recovering, emerging from quarantine and participating in Sunday’s figure skating gala, he was barred from the closing ceremony.
Zhou, who won silver as part of the team event at the beginning of the Winter Games, wrote on his Instagram Story Sunday that he was identified as a close contact and thus was not allowed to attend the 2022 Olympics closing ceremony.
“Before boarding the bus to the stadium, they flagged me as a COVID ‘close contact’ risk and would not allow me to proceed further,” Zhou wrote. “I have tested negative 14 times in a row. I have antibodies and am not contagious whatsoever. I am 100% healthy and normal. I am double masked and would be walking outdoors with the same people I am about to travel with in a couple of hours. Out of everyone marching, I would be the least at risk of transmitting to others.”
Zhou, 21, noted how he was “required” to remove his mask when taking the ice for the figure skating gala earlier Sunday. “But it seems that being double masked outdoors is riskier,” he wrote.
On Feb. 7, Zhou revealed in an emotional Instagram video that he would not be competing in the rest of the 2022 Olympics due to COVID. He couldn’t join his teammates on the podium to receive his silver medal for the team event.
“I’ve isolated myself so much that the loneliness I’ve felt in the last month or two has been crushing at times. The enormity of the situation, just the pain of it all is pretty insane,” Zhou said in his Feb. 7 video.
On Wednesday, Zhou posted photos of himself after coming out of quarantine.
