A member of Team Nigerian to the Tokyo Olympics games has become the first visitor to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19
Japan’s Television Asahi reported this Friday, as the host country battles to stem the rising local infections with the Games starting in about a week
The Nigerian, a non-athlete in his 60s, tested positive on Thursday evening at the airport and had only mild symptoms but was hospitalised because of his age and pre-existing conditions, TV Asahi said, without giving further details.
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Earlier in the day, the Australian Olympic Committee said that Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur, ranked 15th in the world, had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to his departure for the Tokyo Olympics, the latest athlete to see his Olympics dream shattered by the virus.
U.S. basketball star Bradley Beal’s Olympic dream was also cut abruptly short on Thursday when USA Basketball announced that the Washington Wizards star will miss the Tokyo Games after he entered Coronavirus protocols at the training camp in Las Vegas.
Several COVID-19 cases have emerged involving athletes and others participating in the Games, which start July 23, even as infections spread in Tokyo and experts warn worse may lie ahead.
Tokyo is under a state of emergency for the pandemic, but most steps to curb its spread are voluntary and many people say they are tired of complying.
Organisers have promised that the Games, postponed last year because of the pandemic, will be safe and secure and imposed strict testing regimes and limits on delegates activities to try and reduce anxiety amongst the general public, many of whom wanted the Games cancelled or postponed again.
The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Thursday there was zero risk of Games participants infecting Japanese residents with COVID-19, as cases hit a six-month high in the host city.
However, Japanese Olympic gold medalist turned chief of the Japan Sports Agency, Koji Murofushi, said on Friday that Olympics organisers needed flexibility and swift decision-making in reacting to the spread in COVID-19 infections.
The Tokyo Games will be held without spectators at most venues, and officials are urging the public to stay home and watch on television, depriving Japan of its hopes for a Games with pomp and public spectacle.
Source: Reuters
