TOKYO – The Tokyo Olympics registered its first Covid-19 case in the Olympic Village six days before the Games open, organisers said today.
“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.
“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-19 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. – AFP, July 17, 2021
