This is the first positive case of a foreign athlete -bound for Olympics reported in Japan.
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Tokyo Olympics : A football player from Ghana’s Under-24 team tested positive for COVID-16, the Japan Football Association (JFA) said. This is the first positive case of a foreign athlete bound for Olympics reported in Japan.
The athlete was tested and this news broke just two days after the JFA cancelled a friendly match against Jamaica as 10 of its players did not fly to Japan due to testing issues.
The player is isolating from the rest of the team. Other players and staff members are also isolating in their respective facility.
The team from Ghana will need additional clearance if they want to play their match on Saturday. The visitors had left its destination with proof of negative COVID-19 tests within 72 hours of its departure as mandated, the JFA said.
Japan is still trying to contain the fourth wave of COVID-19. There are just 50 days left before Tokyo Olympics begins. Tokyo and other regions around it are under a state of emergency until June 20.
The country’s top coronavirus adviser said it is “not normal” to host Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics amid the pandemic. Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert, head of government subcommittee on the coronavirus, said the Tokyo Games organizing committee should have sufficient anti-virus measures to ensure the safety of the participants.
“It is not normal to (host the games) under the current situation,” Omi told a parliament committee.
Meanwhile, around 10,000 volunteers withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, confirmed the Japanese organising committee. A total of 70,000 voluteers have quit by now.
“I think there is no doubt that one of the reasons is concern over coronavirus infections,” Toshiro Muto, CEO of the organizing committee, told reporters, but said it would not seriously affect operations because the games are expected to be scaled down from their original plans.
