World Health Organization Dir General Margaret Chan said that she has "convened an expert committee to consider whether" the Rio Games "should proceed as planned." Chan in a letter released Friday wrote she has "decided to ask members of the Zika Emergency Committee to examine the risks of holding the Olympic Summer Games as currently scheduled." WHO said that the meeting date "would likely be fixed next week" (AP, 6/3).
Golfer Jason Day said of Zika, "I don't think it's an Olympic issue, I don't think it's a Rio issue, I think it's a medical issue that's attached to the (question of) what happens if I go there, get it, and bring it back. ... So I am a little wary on it" (ESPN.com, 6/3). U.S. cyclist Tejay van Garderen, a "likely bet to make the squad," has "withdrawn from consideration for a place" on the U.S. national team. Van Garderen: "I don't want to take any chances" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/4). But U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas quipped, "Mosquitos? Like, whatever. I'm going. This is my shot. I don't care about no stupid bugs" (AP, 6/3).
