COVID-19 hits Tokyo Olympics 2020: First case reported from games village

The organisers of Tokyo Olympics 2020 said on Saturday that they have identified the first case of COVID-19 in the Tokyo Olympics Village. This comes six days before the games open. "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 during a press conference. However, he did not divulge any details regarding the person's nationality and name, citing privacy concerns.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, deferred for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being held under unprecedented conditions and tight quarantine rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. A member of the Nigerian Olympics delegation was admitted to a hospital on Friday after testing positive for the coronavirus at Narita airport. The person, in his 60s, had mild symptoms but was hospitalised because of his pre-existing conditions and advanced age.

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This was the first COVID hospitalisation of an Olympics-related visitor. Many coronavirus cases have surfaced comprising athletes and others involved with the games which start on July 23. Tokyo is already under a state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic, however, most steps to check its spread are voluntary and several people say they have grown weary of complying.

The Olympics and Paralympics include 15,400 athletes and tens of thousands of others entering Japan, comprising media, judges, broadcasters, officials, and others. The official cost of the Olympics is $15.4 billion, although government audits suggest it is much higher. All but $6.7 billion is public money.

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