The Olympics haven’t even started yet, and the list of problems keep growing—from high crime, to shoddy facilities, to tainted water at the sports venues.
But the Chinese team has come up with a creative solution to at least one problem: To avoid Zika-carrying mosquitos, Chinese athletes are now sleeping with nets around them.
Brazil has been a hotspot for the Zika virus, which has spread through Puerto Rico and throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. It was the first country to report an outbreak of Zika, which is particularly dangerous for pregnant women because babies can be born with microcephaly. In the first 26 weeks of this year, there were 165.907 suspected cases of the Zika virus, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health says the risk has diminished since February, and that it’s unlikely that tourists will contract Zika during the Olympics because Rio is in its winter season, when there are fewer mosquitos, and also because tourists will most likely be in places with screens and air conditioning.
But the Chinese aren’t taking any chances, and some other athletes, like Hope Solo, goalkeeper for Team USA’s Women’s Soccer Team, are following suit.