THE TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC
AND PARALYMPIC GAMES
A REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL
AND CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE AND COLLABORATION
I By Stephanie Tow, MD, FAAPMR, CAQSM was traveling around Asia while I was
living in Hong Kong on a Fulbright
scholarship in 2009 when the swine
flu pandemic caused by the H1N1
virus broke out. With an interest in
global health, I was fascinated comparing
the different approaches and perspectives
each country or region around the
world embraced to address the pandemic.
For example, in mainland China, it was very
common to see people wearing face masks
in public and frequently sanitizing their hands
with hand sanitizer. A friend of mine commented
critically, “It’s so silly that they all
wear these masks. There’s no evidence that
masks prevent spread of infectious disease.”
The rest of our Fulbright scholars group nodded
in strong agreement. Back then, there
wasn’t much evidence regarding prevention
of spreading infectious disease with face
masks.
But then things started to feel more serious.
When swine flu broke out in Hong Kong,
all primary and secondary schools were shut
down to minimize spread of the virus. While
traveling to different cities in Asia, I had to
fill out multiple health surveys, and we were
instructed to remain in our seats on the plane
after we landed so that medical personnel
donned in full-body space-suit-like gowns,
N95 masks, and safety glasses/goggles
could screen each of our temperatures. As
we walked through the airport, it was hard
to ignore the health officials donned in full
personal protective equipment (PPE) who
were stationed
throughout the
airport, eyeing all
travelers heavily,
ready to intervene if
they observed any
suspicion of H1N1
illness. I remember
feeling like I was in a
science fiction movie.
Yet when traveling
back to the US
for medical school
interviews, I was
surprised that there
were no specific
precautions that I
had to take to travel
– no screening to
board or disembark my plane. I had been afforded
a unique opportunity to gain glimpses
of how different regions of the world handle
pandemics. I was so impressed by the lessons
learned from other countries and the benefit
of international exchange of knowledge
that I even wrote an article reflecting on my
experiences in the Johns Hopkins University
Public Health Research Journal “Epidemic
Proportions” in 2010. I never thought seeing
people in the general public wearing face
masks, goggles, or even full-body PPE or seeing
almost everyone in the public carry hand
sanitizer with them would become a normal
sight for me a decade later.
This past summer, I once again was afforded
the opportunity to travel to Asia during
a pandemic. I was recruited to travel to
Tokyo to work as a sports medicine physician
alongside 17 other international sports medicine
physicians, 4 nurses, and 1 psychologist
at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, where we assisted with the COVID-19
mitigation procedures in the athlete village,
isolation hotel, and the Infectious Disease
Control Center. Together, we represented 13
countries and spoke 16 languages. As head
team physician of Team USA’s Paralympic
Swimming national team and team physician
of multiple other sporting groups locally,
developing COVID-19 mitigation procedures
and protocols had become part of my normal
list of responsibilities as a team physician
during the COVID-19 pandemic. However,
even with this experience, traveling to Tokyo
10 | DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • March 2022
was still quite stressful, especially when trying
to prepare for many unknowns and factors
out of my control. Prior to travel, I attended
many orientation meetings and studied all
of my pre-travel documents and instructions
rigorously for months to make sure I was in
compliance with the medical procedures in
place for the Tokyo Games. This sometimes
became confusing and tiring as policies
changed week to week. Wearing my N95
mask during my entire 13-hour flight from
Chicago to Tokyo Haneda (except when
eating or drinking), I prayed that no one in
the rows of seats nearby me tested positive
for COVID-19 when we landed, because this
would mean that I would also have to quarantine.
Upon landing, it took me about 2-3
hours to anxiously get through multiple stations
in the Tokyo
Haneda airport
for screening,
COVID-19
testing, waiting
for results, and
verifying my
credentials to
work at the Tokyo
2020 Olympic
and Paralympic
Games, as there
were strict restrictions
on who
was allowed to
enter Japan at
the time. I let out
a huge sigh of
relief when I re-
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