TOKYO’S...

On Sunday, they unveiled the dedicated virus clinic, warned that drinking in groups at the village would be prohibited and said a mixed zone for guests had been scrapped. Warning posters urging anti-virus measures including room ventilation have been placed throughout the mini-city, which can sleep 18,000 athletes and team members during the Olympics and 8,000 during the Paralympics.

The first glimpse of the village since last year’s postponement revealed a virtual city within a city, with everything from a playground and florist to dry cleaners and ice baths for athletes and staff. The site stretches across 44 hectares of reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay, with 21 residents towers, a 3,000-seat canteen, a park, gyms and recreation facilities, complete with Nintendo consoles. Young trees that organisers hope will eventually provide shade during the fierce Tokyo summer dot the otherwise almost eerily empty village, populated only by workers, uniformed guards on bikes and firefighters carrying out drills.

But in just a few weeks, all that will change, with national teams taking up residence and up to 3,000 staff manning everything from stops for autonomous buses to kitchens serving thousands of meals.

The spectre of the coronavirus, which forced the postponement of the Games last year, will hang heavy over the village. The newly added fever clinic, separate from the main medical facility, will be used to test and isolate people suspected of infection or considered close contacts. Testing will be “the biggest challenge”, with about 20,000 carried out each day, according to Tetsuya Miyamoto, an official with Tokyo 2020’s medical services.

Other virus measures include reduced seating for diners, plexiglass shields between gym equipment, and a kit of hand sanitisers and soap to be handed to village residents.