Tokyo Olympics organisers on Saturday reported the first case of Covid-19 at the athletes’ village, along with 14 other new cases connected to the Games that begin next week, raising fresh doubts over promises of a “safe and secure” event.
The latest cases are a blow to the local organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have insisted the Games will not become a super-spreader event.
The Tokyo organisers confirmed that a visitor from abroad working for the Olympics had tested positive in a routine check on Friday.
The person’s nationality was not revealed due to privacy concerns.
The case at the athletes’ village, a 44-hectare site built on Tokyo’s waterfront, is particularly worrying as the majority of the 11,000 competitors will be staying there.
IOC president Thomas Bach, facing unprecedented opposition to an Olympics days before it starts, acknowledged the concerns in the Japanese public but urged them to welcome the athletes.
“We ask and invite the Japanese people, humbly, to welcome and support the athletes from around the world,” Bach told a news conference.
Hotel hotspot
In more worrying news, a coronavirus cluster has been detected at a Japanese hotel where dozens of Brazilian Olympic team members are staying, officials said on Wednesday, raising concerns of Covid-19 infections spreading between locals and Olympic staff and athletes.
Seven staff at the hotel in the city of Hamamatsu, southwest of Tokyo, have tested positive, said a city official, but the 31 members of the Brazilian Olympic delegation, which includes judo athletes, are in a “bubble” inside the hotel separated from other guests and have not been infected.
Training green light
Not required to undergo any quarantine ahead of the Olympics, the Indian shooters will begin training at the venue from July 19, having got their rooms allotted at the Games village after arriving in Tokyo in the early hours of Saturday.
All members of the contingent returned negative for Covid-19 after they were tested at the airport.
