Worst fears realised with positive case inside Olympics Village

The worst fears of Tokyo Olympics organisers have been realised with the Games plunged into uncertainty by a positive test.

Olympic Rings and the Japanese flag are seen outside the Olympic Museum in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Olympics has registered its first Covid-19 case in the Olympic Village six days before the Games open, organisers said on Saturday.

“There was one person in the Village. 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.

The person, whom organisers refused to identify, has been removed from the Village where thousands of athletes and officials will reside during the Games.

Part of the Olympic village (foreground) is pictured in Tokyo.

“Right now this person is confined to a hotel,” Takaya said. Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organiser of the Tokyo 2020 Games, said: “We are doing everything to prevent any Covid outbreaks. If we end up with an outbreak we will make sure we have a plan in place to respond.”

At an Olympics that have already been postponed by a year because of the pandemic, organisers have put in place stringent measures to avoid coronavirus infections in the Village.

It comes after the Australian team had its first athlete test positive on friday with the AOC announcing tennis star Alex de Minaur contracted coronavirus and been forced to withdraw from the Australian Olympic team.

The devastating news was announced Friday morning by the Australian Olympic Committee, with Chef de mission Ian Chesterman revealing that de Minaur was “shattered” over the news.

Tokyo 2020 organisers threw open the doors of the Olympic Village to the media last month, showing off ‘eerie’ details of the venue that will host thousands of athlete’s from around the world.

Warning posters urging anti-virus measures including room ventilation have been placed throughout the Olympics Village mini-city, which can sleep 18,000 athletes and team members during the Olympics and 8,000 during the Paralympics.

The first glimpse of the village since last year’s postponement revealed a virtual city within a city, with everything from a playground and florist to dry cleaners and ice baths for athletes and staff.

Beds made of cardboards for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village.

The site stretches across 44 hectares of reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay, with 21 residents towers, a 3,000-seat canteen, a park, gyms and recreation facilities, complete with Nintendo consoles.

Competitors can only enter the village shortly before their event and must leave within 48 hours of being eliminated or their competition ending.

Conditions won’t exactly be luxurious, with single rooms of nine square metres (100 square feet) and doubles of 12 square metres (130 sq ft).

Beds are made from recyclable cardboard, but are tough enough to stand up to beefy weightlifters and towering basketball players, organisers say.

Kitajima promised excellent safety protocols, and athletes aren’t likely to face the hot water shortages or dodgy plumbing that have made headlines at some previous Games.

Olympic officials expect most of those staying in the village will have been vaccinated, but the rules apply regardless of inoculation status, and athletes could be kicked out of the Games if they fail to comply.