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OLYMPIC GAMES

First covid positive at athletes' village, raising pre-Tokyo 2020 fears

A person has tested positive for covid-19 at the Tokyo Olympics athletes' village, organisers said on Saturday as concerns grow about infections at the Games which begin next week.

France's Florian Thauvin (R) arrives with other members of the French football team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba prefecture on July 17, 2021. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
CHARLY TRIBALLEAUAFP

A person has tested positive for covid-19 at the Tokyo Olympics athletes' village, organisers said on Saturday, in the first such case that adds to concerns about infections at the Games which begin next week.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto confirmed that a visitor from abroad who is involved in organising the Games had tested positive. He would not reveal the person's nationality, citing privacy concerns.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed for a year due to the global pandemic, is being held mostly without spectators and under tight quarantine rules.

Athletes are just starting to arrive for the Games which run July 23 through Aug. 8.

Japan's public has been lukewarm about the Games amid a resurgence in new coronavirus infections and worries that an influx of foreign visitors may help turn the Tokyo Olympics into a super-spreader event, which in turn could put further strain on Japan's already stretched medical system