The National Public Security Force (FNSP) of Brazil "has deployed 280 soldiers for the upcoming Olympic diving test event and its secretary said in terms of security the 2016 Rio Olympic Games has already started," according to XINHUA.
The FINA Diving World Cup is "serving as an Olympic test event." There "will be 272 athletes from 49 countries and regions competing for 92 Olympic places, in 18 individual events and five synchronised events."
FNSP Secretary
Regina Miki De Luca said, "For us, the Olympics starts now. We will have (near) 50 countries (regions) in this (diving) event, with more than 270 athletes' safety under our responsibility." The Rio Olympics "will boast Brazil's largest ever security operation with an 85,000-strong force to patrol event venues and the city's streets." The plan "will see 57,000 military troops deployed plus 28,000 members of the police and other security forces" (XINHUA, 2/16).
ZIKA THREAT: REUTERS' Pedro Fonseca wrote Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who will play this week in the Rio Open, "downplayed public concerns over risks linked to the Zika virus in the Brazilian city that will host the Olympics in August," saying "people are living completely normal lives."
Nadal "is one of the first major sports figures to compete in the city since Brazil became the focal point for the virus that has spread rapidly across the Americas." Several athletes and visitors planning to come to the Olympics "have expressed concern about Zika, which has been reported in more than 30 countries, according to the World Health Organization" (REUTERS, 2/16).
