Usain Bolt, the Olympic sprinting champion and fastest man alive, says he is in self-quarantine after taking a test for COVID-19.
The retired Jamaican sprinter posted a video of himself on Twitter Monday to address rumours that he had the coronavirus.
“I was waking up and like everybody else, I checked social media and saw my social media saying that I am confirmed to have COVID-19,” he says in the video.
Bolt did not confirm that he has the virus, despite multiple reports claiming a positive status based on the video. He explained that he took a test on Saturday and he’s still waiting for the results.
He said he is not experiencing any symptoms, but he got tested because he has to leave Jamaica for work.
“I am going to quarantine myself and wait on the confirmation to see what is the protocol and how I should go about quarantining myself,” Bolt says in the video.
“I’m trying to be responsible so I’m going to stay in and stay away from my friends,” he added. “Just to be safe, I’ll quarantine myself.”
Bolt put out the statement after Nationwide Radio News, a Jamaican-based station, claimed he had tested positive on Monday morning. The station did not cite any sources in its report and Bolt’s manager did not respond to its requests for comment.
The decorated Olympian has been facing criticism after his friends threw him a lavish party for his 34th birthday on Friday. Several Jamaica-based celebrities attended the party.
Jamaica has a population of about 3 million people. It reported 116 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, according to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.
The island has recorded 1,529 cases of COVID-19 to date, along with 16 deaths.
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