Image Courtesy- Olympics
Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics revealed the first case of COVID-19 in the Games Village on Saturday while trying to assure participants that the event delayed by the pandemic was safe. Six days before the opening ceremony, organizers said that an anonymous person had tested positive for the coronavirus in the village, where thousands of athletes and officials will stay there during the Olympics.
“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. he added ”Right now this person is confined to a hotel,”
Japanese media reported that the person who had tested positive was a foreigner. The Olympics are facing opposition from the Japanese public, who fear there will be a new wave of infections.
Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organizer of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, said organizers were ready to respond swiftly if there was a big outbreak. “We are doing everything to prevent any Covid outbreaks. If we end up with an outbreak we will make sure we have a plan in place to respond,” she said.
Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said it was not yet known if the person had been vaccinated against COVID-19. “We don’t have any information on whether this person was vaccinated or not,” Muto said. He further added that the competitors at the Games would be tested every day “so if someone tests positive, that person will be isolated immediately whether there are any close contacts or not” said CEO.