Olympic Village Hit by Coronavirus For the First Time
The Games Village was hit by its first coronavirus case six days before the pandemic-delayed event opens and the chief of the Tokyo Olympics has reassured “worried” athletes that everything is being done to prevent any Covid outbreak.
As thousands of competitors pour into Japan for the Games, which will largely take place without spectators, the positive test for an unnamed person in the Village heightened worries over biosecurity.
About 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of officials and media are flying in for the Games, which open on Friday in the face of widespread public concern over a possible surge in infections.
The capital remains under a coronavirus state of emergency and has in recent days recorded its highest case numbers since January.
No details were given about the positive test in the Village, one of 15 Games-related cases revealed on Saturday — the highest figure this month. Japanese media said the infected person came from abroad.
illage “That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test,” Masa Takaya, spokesman for the Tokyo organising committee, told a press conference.
“Right now this person is confined to a hotel,” Takaya said.
Several athletes have expressed concern over conditions at the rearranged Games, which are marked by ubiquitous temperature checks, hand sanitiser and daily testing.
Organisers pledged full transparency about cases in the Village, and urged people taking part in the Games to stick by the anti-coronavirus rules.
Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said competitors would be tested every day “so if someone tests positive, that person will be isolated immediately whether there are any close contacts or not”.
