Sunday 18th July 2021
“Have the situation under control”
New corona cases in the Olympic village
The Tokyo Summer Games have not yet started and yet 55 corona cases have already been registered in connection with the Olympic Games. The organizers believe that they have the situation under control.
For the first time, athletes in the Olympic Village in Tokyo have tested positive for the coronavirus. The organizers of the summer games confirmed two cases this Sunday among athletes who had already moved into their accommodations in the village. A corona case had already been reported to an official in the Olympic village the day before.
According to the International Olympic Committee, all three come from the same foreign team and have gone into quarantine. “We keep the risk to a minimum, but it is inevitable that we will have some cases,” said IOC Olympic Director Christophe Dubi.
Dubi also confirmed a corona case with the South Korean IOC member Seung-Min Ryu. The 2004 Olympic table tennis champion tested positive when he arrived in Tokyo. Ryu had previously published the result himself and is now in self-isolation, said Dubi. Another athlete had also tested positive for the virus upon arrival on Sunday.
In total, the organizers registered ten new infections in connection with the Olympic Games this Sunday. This brought the total to 55 cases five days before the opening ceremony. “We believe we have the situation under control,” said Hidemasa Nakamura, head of the responsible department of the Tokyo Games Organizing Committee.
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