Two athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Athletes’ Village after a team colleague was also infected, officials said yesterday, raising fears of a cluster just days before the Olympic Games open.
The first cases involving athletes in the Village came a day after a member of their entourage returned the first positive test in the complex, which is to house thousands of athletes.
The three infections were revealed as competitors fly in from around the world for the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed Olympics, which are facing significant opposition in Japan due to their COVID-19 risks.
Photo: AFP
Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said the three cases “were from the same country and sport.”
They are “isolated in their rooms and Tokyo 2020 is delivering meals to them,” he said, adding that the rest of the team have also been tested.
The team was not identified.
The Athletes’ Village, a complex of apartments and dining areas in Tokyo, is to house 6,700 athletes and officials at its peak when the delayed 2020 Games finally get under way.
The Tokyo Games, which is to be held largely behind closed doors to prevent infections, are unpopular in Japan, where opinion polls have consistently demonstrated a lack of support.
Olympic officials have been at pains to play down the health risks of the Games, which are taking place in stringent anti-coronavirus conditions with athletes tested daily.
“Mingling and crossing of populations is very limited. We keep the risk to an absolute minimum level,” Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said yesterday. “We can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible.”
However, Tokyo residents appeared unsettled by the cases in the Village.
“I thought the Olympic Village would be safer, so I am amazed that the virus even got inside there. I think it’s dangerous,” cosmetics company employee Riyoka Kasahara, 23, told reporters.
“I question why we are holding the Games now even though we waited for one year, especially when we are seeing variants that are more contagious,” security guard Shotaro Watanabe, 22, said.
Fifty-five cases linked to the Games, which are to open on Friday, have been discovered this month, including four athletes.
South Korean International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Ryu Seung-min tested positive on arrival in Japan and was placed in isolation, a spokesman for the Olympic body said.
On Saturday, IOC president Thomas Bach appealed for Japanese fans to show support, saying that he was “very well aware of the skepticism” surrounding the Games.
Athletes are arriving to find a restrictive environment, with daily testing, social distancing and no movement possible outside the Olympic “bubble.” They are under orders to leave Japan 48 hours after their event.
In another example of the difficulties, Australia’s entire athletics team was quarantined before departure after a member of their entourage returned an inconclusive test. The official later tested negative.
“We expect that there’ll be cases associated with these Games and really what’s going to matter is how we respond to that and to ensure that there’s no complacency,” said David Hughes, medical director of the Australian Olympic team.
Australia has 194 athletes in the Athletes’ Village backed by support staff, including psychologists to help them deal with the “extra strain” of the anti-COVID-19 measures.
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