Tokyo: First Covid-19 Case Reported In Olympic Village; Person Moved To Hotel

First Covid case reported in Olympic village in Tokyo Japan.

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New Delhi: Tokyo Olympics organizers have confirmed one Covid-19 case at the Tokyo Olympic Village. The news comes just six days ahead of the games. 

#UPDATES Tokyo Olympics registers first Covid-19 case in Olympic Village six days before Games open

"That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test," Masa Takaya, spokesman for Tokyo organising committee says pic.twitter.com/1dR9FwHQ54

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 17, 2021

While speaking to the press, Masa Takaya, spokesman for the Tokyo organising committee said, "There was one person in the Village. That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test," AFP reported. 

The committee refused to reveal the identity of the person and said the person has been removed from the Village where thousands of athletes and officials are housed for the duration of the Games. The person is currently, staying at a hotel. 

Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organiser of the Tokyo 2020 Games, was quoted by AFP as saying, "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."

Organisers have to put in stringent measures considering that the games have already been delayed by a year. 

The first batch of India's Olympic-bound athletes will depart for Tokyo on July 17, IOA President Narinder Batra on Thursday said the IOA officials who have landed in Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games have found the facilities to be very good and some "dining hall issues" have also been resolved for the contingent. These officials will receive the first batch of the Indian Contingent of 90 in the Village, when it lands in Tokyo on July 18.

The Indian athletes will have to undergo three days of hard quarantine after arriving in Tokyo and the IOA had raised concerns about how their meals would be managed during the time.

The athletes will also have to go through rigorous testing during the Games.

The mega-event is being held from July 23 to August 8 under strict health safety protocols and sans crowds amid the raging pandemic.

Tokyo yesterday recorded 1,271 new COVID-19 cases, marking the 27th day in a row where the tally is higher than a week prior. It was also the third straight day where the total number of infections has topped 1,000.