Another 19 Covid cases related to the Olympics detected on first day of Games

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<strong>Covid-19 cases related to the Olympics rose by 19 on Friday out of which three were athletes participating in the Games, organisers said.</strong></p>
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The Tokyo Olympic organisers, in their daily COVID-19 update, announced on Friday that three athletes, 10 Games-concerned personnel, three journalists and three contractors associated with the event have been found positive.</p>
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The total number of coronavirus cases among people linked to the Olympic Games has now gone up to 106 among whom 11 are athletes.</p>
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Czech Olympic officials are looking into a cluster of coronavirus cases that are linked to a charter flight that brought a group of athletes and staff to Japan. The country's contingent has six coronavirus cases in total.</p>
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A doctor and a coach who were on the flight were reportedly among the first to test positive. Four athletes had also tested positive for the coronavirus.</p>
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The charter flight has made news headlines in the Czech Republic amidst reports that many passengers had taken off their masks immediately after the plane took off.</p>
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"Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has described the situation as a scandal and unfair to the athletes," according to Radio Prague International.</p>
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Much of the controversy is centred around a doctor on board the flight, Vlastimil Voráček, who was reportedly not vaccinated, according to some media reports.</p>
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Meanwhile, Tokyo hit another six-month in its daily count of Covid-19 cases with 1,979 fresh infections being reported on Thursday. This is the highest since 2,044 new cases were recorded on Jan. 15.</p>
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Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the International Olympic Committee have been determined to hold the Olympics despite mounting criticism in the country due to the pandemic.  Tokyo was placed under a state of emergency on July 12, but daily cases have risen sharply.</p>
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Spectators have been banned from all Olympic venues in the Tokyo area, with limited audiences allowed at a few outlying events.</p>