First Case of Covid-19 detected in Olympic Village

An official connected to the Olympic Games has become the first resident of the Olympic Village, where thousands of athletes and officials will stay during the Games to positive for COVID-19.

"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 organizing committee, told a press conference. The Japanese media has reported that the person who had tested positive was a foreign national. Takya has refused to reveal the person’s nationality, citing privacy concerns.

The affected official has been placed into a 14-day quarantine, Tokyo 2020 said. They had not tested positive upon arrival at the airport but a test taken in the screening process at the Village, located in Harumi has returned a positive Covid-19 result.

The case will come as a concern to organizers and the International Olympic Committee, which had promised the Village would be the "safest place" in Tokyo.

"We are making sure to do everything possible to ensure that there is no COVID-19 outbreak," Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said. He added that no efforts were being sparred by them to prevent any outbreaks. And in case of one, they would have a plan to respond.

Tokyo 2020 confirmed there had been 14 more confirmed new infections in Japan linked to the Games since July 1, now less than a week to go before the July 23 Opening Ceremony.

Of the 13 other positive cases, four were also from "Games connected personnel" - defined as "those affiliated with the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee, NOCs, NPCs, International Federations, members of the Olympic and Paralympic Family, partners, Olympic Broadcasting Services members, etc".

Health experts have warned the Games could become a "super-spreader" event, while Shigeru Omi, the Japanese Government’s top COVID-19 advisor, has warned staging the Olympics during a pandemic is "abnormal".

Tokyo yesterday recorded 1,271 new COVID-19 cases, marking the 27th day in a row where the tally is higher than a week prior. It was also the third straight day where the total number of infections has topped 1,000.