Concerns about the Gil Hanse-designed golf course for the Olympic Games in August in Rio de Janeiro have pretty much subsided, but now there is another worry according to Golf.com.
It’s the Zika virus.
Olympic officials are taking precautions to prevent golfers and spectators from contracting the disease in Brazil, because the golf competition will take place near standing water hazards, common breeding sites for mosquitoes which transmit the virus.
There are two manmade ponds on the course, with the larger one coming into play on the second, third and fifth holes, while the smaller is in play only on the 10th.
“We’re having discussions about the precautionary steps we feel need to be taken in and around the golf competition, and making plans to implement them to the maximum degree,” said Ty Votaw, vice president of the International Golf Federation.
Votaw said special mosquito repellant might be distributed to fans and officials plan to create movement in the ponds to eliminate standing water.
Infectious disease experts claim as many as 1.5 million people are believed to have already been infected with the virus in Brazil, which will host about 500,000 people from around the world for the Games.
While not normally life threatening, it is believed the virus might cause birth defects.
Golf will be played in the Olympics for the first time since 1904 in St. Louis, with the men’s golf tournament scheduled for Aug. 11-14 and the women’s event set for Aug. 17-20.
