Tokyo Olympics: First Covid-19 case confirmed in athletes village; testing procedures defended
Covid testing procedures have been fiercely defended after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were left on high alert following a case being recorded in the heart of the athletes village.
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The International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach strongly defended the testing procedures that were in place after confirmation of the first positive case from the village.
Bach has come under fire for promising the Games would be “safe and secure” while the number of positive cases continues to rise around the world.
Speaking to international media after an executive board meeting, he said around 15,000 foreign visitors had been tested since arriving in Japan, with 15 returning positive tests, which was proof the system was working.
“This is a very low rate of 0.01 per cent,” Bach said.
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“It goes without saying that all the people were immediately isolated so they do not pose a risk to other participants or the Japanese population.
“The close contacts of these people have also been identified … I think this shows that the measures are not only in place but are working and being reinforced.”
The IOC’s sports director Christophe Dubi said the village was designed to accommodate 17,000 people but would be less than half full at every stage of the Games because of requirements that athletes were told not to arrive more than five days before their events then leave within 48 hours of finishing up.
“The highest capacity does not necessarily mean the highest risk,” Dubi said.
“But that will be around the middle weekend, when we expect to have around 6000 athletes and their entourages.”
Tokyo officials confirmed on Saturday the person has been removed from the village and placed in a hotel.
It is understood the foreigner was involved in organising the games, however Tokyo 2020 authorities have declined to identify their nationality due to privacy concerns.
The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed none of its athletes or officials already in the village have tested positive.
Tokyo Organising Committee spokesman Masa Takaya confirmed the positive case within the heart of the Olympics bubble.
“That was the very first case in the village that was reported during the screening test,” he said.
Since July 1 there have been 14 positive Covid-19 cases in Japan linked to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Japan remains locked in a state of emergency with daily Covid-19 cases reaching 3408 across the country on Friday — a six-month high according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
The positive case inside the village comes after Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur was forced to withdraw on Friday after recording a second positive Covid-19 test conducted prior to his departure for Japan.
De Minaur returned a positive result on both the 96-hour and 72-hour PCR test required by the Japanese government prior to entry.
The young ace, in Spain, has not been in contact with other members of the Australian Olympic Team since returning a negative test on July 5.
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