First Covid-19 case surfaces at Olympic Games Village in Tokyo

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<strong>Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have disclosed that the first Covid-19 case in the Games Village was reported on Saturday but expressed confidence that the prestigious sports event would be conducted safely.</strong></p>
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"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 organising committee said at a press conference.</p>
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"Right now this person is confined to a hotel," Takaya added.</p>
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According to local media reports, the person who had tested positive at the Games Village, where thousands of athletes and officials will be staying, was a foreign national.</p>
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With six days to go for the opening ceremony, Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organiser of the Tokyo 2020 Games, said organisers were ready to respond swiftly if there was a wider outbreak.</p>
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"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.</p>
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Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said 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".</p>
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While there have been instances of delegates testing positive at the airport on arrival and being quarantined, this is the first instance of an individual infected with coronavirus making it to the Village itself.</p>
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Earlier an Olympic athlete under a 14-day quarantine period tested positive for the virus, but had not yet moved to the Olympic Village, the organising committee's website had reported, without giving further details. They said one member of the Games personnel and four Tokyo 2020 contractors had also tested positive.</p>
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A Nigerian Olympic delegate became the first visitor to the Tokyo Games admitted to hospital with COVID-19, broadcaster TV Asahi said on Friday, as Japan battles to stem rising local infections a week before the showpiece event starts.</p>
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The individual, a non-athlete in the 60s, tested positive on Thursday evening at the airport with mild symptoms but was hospitalised because of age and pre-existing conditions, the broadcaster said, without giving details.</p>
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The coronavirus has infected increasing numbers of athletes and others involved with the Games, and authorities were on Friday trying to track down a Ugandan weightlifter who went missing from his training camp, according to a Reuters report.</p>
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Tokyo is under a state of emergency during the Games, and organisers have imposed strict testing and limits on delegates' activities to allay fears of the Japanese public, many of whom wanted the Games cancelled or postponed.</p>