Tokyo’s Olympic Village has its first positive COVID-19 test just a week before the summer Olympic Games, according to an NPR report Saturday.
Toshiro Muto, CEO for Tokyo 2020, announced the news Saturday after a “person connected to the games” from overseas tested positive for the virus a day earlier during PCR screening.
That individual is now being quarantined in a hotel, according to Muto.
A total of 44 people have now tested positive as the nation prepares to welcome 11,000 athletes, and another 79,000 journalists, officials, and staff to the city for the games, which were postponed a year due to the pandemic.
Of the 44, 28 are contractors for Tokyo 2020, two are Tokyo 2020 employees, 10 are classified as “game-concerned personnel,” three are media, and one is an athlete, according to the Tokyo 2020 organization.
Twelve of the 44 have been placed in quarantine.
The summer games in Tokyo will feature five more sports than the last games in Rio in 2016, for a total of 33 separate sport competitions.
Baseball and softball are returning to the games with new additions karate, surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing, the organization said.
These are the first Olympics that have ever been postponed but will go on without spectators due to a State of Emergency announced July 8, and athletes will collect their medals without contact, according to the organization.
All those that will be attending the games, or residing in the Olympic Village, will have to adhere to a 70-page “playbook” of COVID-19 mitigation measures including always wearing masks, except when eating, drinking, competing, training, or sleeping.
The Olympic Village, where the person tested positive, is located on the Harumi Waterfront.
According to the NPR article, a Nigerian visitor was the first to be hospitalized with the virus yesterday.
Tokyo is going through its fifth round of infections from the virus and organizers are concerned about the Delta variant, which spreads an estimated 255% faster than the initial strain.
Despite the threat, organizers say that about 80% of those coming to Tokyo have been fully vaccinated, although it was not required by organizers.
Opening ceremonies for the games are scheduled to begin on July 23, and the games will continue for two weeks.
Billions of people are expected to tune into televised coverage during the event.
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