Covid cases on the rise in Olympic village

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Two South African soccer players and a team official test positive as six British athletes

Six British athletes in self-isolation

About 11,000 athletes expected to reside in the village

The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have reported a number of Covid-19 cases among competitors in the athletes' village, raising concerns about the anti-virus measures.

On July 19th the local organisers confirmed that 21 people are now known to have had close contact with the infected members of the South African soccer team.

Tokyo 2020 bubble under stress as Thomas Bach reassures hosts

Ten people travelling from abroad in connection with the Olympics have also now tested positive for the virus. Among them was International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Ryu Seung-min from South Korea, who tested positive on arrival in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the British Olympic Association (BOA) said that six athletes and two staff members from its track and field team are in self-isolation in their rooms at the team’s camp, after they were identified as close contacts of an individual who tested positive following their arrival in Tokyo on the 16th of July.

According to the latest figures from the TOC, 55 people connected to the Olympics, including officials and contractors working on the Games, have tested positive since the 1st July.

While the rise in infections is testing the organisers' multi-layered testing procedures to quickly catch and isolate positive Covid-19 cases, officials say the rise in cases supports the strength of the testing regimen.

Up to 11,000 athletes are due to be accommodated in the athletes' village during the Games, which get underway 23rd July.

In a meeting with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike last week, IOC president Thomas Bach said Tokyo 2020 participants posed no risk of spreading Covid-19 to the wider Japanese population.

Will you watch this olympics?