Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response for Mass Gatherings at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

OBJECTIVES

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were large-scale international mass gathering events associated with an elevated risk of infectious disease transmission and potential cross-border spread. This report describes the infectious disease preparedness and response system established by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to protect the Korean delegation and to generate evidence to inform policy development for future international mass gathering events.

METHODS

A structured preparedness and response framework was implemented before the event. This included the establishment of an interagency coordination mechanism and the development of a infectious disease preparedness and response plan. An infectious disease task force was constituted to conduct situation assessment meetings, epidemiological surveillance, risk assessment, and incident management. During the event, suspected and confirmed infectious disease cases were actively monitored, and all response activities were systematically documented for post-event evaluation.

RESULTS

The KDCA established a coordinated multi-sectoral response network involving relevant national ministries and supporting organizations, including the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and the Korea Paralympic Committee. An infectious disease task force comprising a central headquarters unit and five functional teams was deployed for epidemiological surveillance, risk assessment, risk communication, situation management, and post-event evaluation. Continuous real-time monitoring and structured situation reporting enabled timely detection and response to potential public health threats during the event period. Two formal situation assessment meetings were conducted to ensure interagency coordination and operational alignment. Following the event, a structured post-event evaluation was conducted to assess response effectiveness, operational performance, and resource utilization.

CONCLUSIONS

The KDCA response framework demonstrated operational feasibility for infectious disease risks during international mass gatherings. This system may serve as a foundational model for the development of a standardized national preparedness and response framework for future international events. It also provides policy-relevant evidence to support the institutionalization of coordinated public health emergency systems for future similar events.