Tokyo Olympics organizers 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 organizers and the International Olympic Committee, who have insisted the Games will not become a super-spreader event.
The competitors are the first athletes to return positive tests for the virus while staying at the Village.
Another unnamed athlete has also tested positive upon arrival in the Japanese capital, Tokyo 2020 said, but they are not a resident of the Village.
The cases were revealed a day after an unidentified person became the first to test positive in the Village, which will house thousands of competitors during the Games.
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.Tokyo 2020 confirmed there had been 10 new infections in Japan linked to the Games since July 1, bringing the total in that period to 55.
An International Olympic Committee member from South Korea on Saturday has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after arriving in Tokyo for the Olympic Games and has been isolated.
South Korean Ryu Seung-min became the first International Olympic Committee (IOC) member to test Covid-19 positive.
Ryu Seung-min, who is also the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA), took to social media to announce that he had been diagnosed with Covid-19 after landing at Narita International Airport, just outside Tokyo, for the Olympics.
“I am completely asymptomatic, which probably has to do with the fact that I am vaccinated,” Ryu wrote on Instagram.
“I apologise to the Organising Committee, our hosts here in Japan, and the IOC for the inconvenience I have caused.
