Tokyo Olympics: 28 new COVID-19 cases sees total Games case count at 458

It is fair to say that the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic hung over the Tokyo Olympics throughout the events. For one, the Games were postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the other, the 2021 edition went ahead without the presence of fans. Athletes too had to live in a bio-secure bubble, a norm of the post-2020 “new normal”. There was also naturally plenty of focus on the caseload related directly to the Games. The fear was that the Games might act as a sort of super-spreader event, but that was a worry that remained largely unfulfilled.

On Monday, the organisers announced a total of 28 new COVID-19 cases. This takes the total case count related to the Games to 458.

Given Japan was seeing in excess of 500 new cases on a daily basis before the Olympics, this is a respectable number. The Games organisers also added that none of the new cases were found among athletes.

The new cases had 13 contractors and six Games-Concerned personnels. There were also six volunteers, two Tokyo employees and one from media among the infected. Twenty one of the new cases were found among residents of Japan.

Thus, the number of confirmed cases who are residents of Japan stood at 307.

How did the Tokyo Olympics deal with the crisis?

Since the start of the Games, a total of 458 people have been infected by the virus including 29 athletes. A total of 115 Games-linked officials tested COVID positive, while 249 cases were of contractors.

Twenty six people from the global media were also infected, as were 12 employees and 27 volunteers. A total of 42,711 plus accredited personnel arrived from overseas during the Games.

Despite the raging global health crisis, Tokyo pulled off a successful Olympic Games, which concluded with a glittering closing ceremony on Sunday.

USA topped the medal tally with 39 golds, one ahead of China (38). Japan ended with a record haul of 27 gold medals to finish in the third position.

India also had a good campaign, recording their best haul of seven medals. This consisted of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.