Olympics hit with Covid cases as IOC feel the heat

TOKYO Olympics organisers yesterday reported the first case of Covid-19 at the athletes’ village, along with 15 other new cases connected to the Games that begin next week, raising fresh doubts over promises of a safe event.

The latest cases are a blow to the local organisers and the International Olympic Committee, who have insisted the Games will not become a super-spreader event.

The Tokyo organisers confirmed that a visitor from abroad working for the Olympics had tested positive in a routine check on Friday. The person’s nationality was not revealed due to privacy concerns.

The other cases included two members of the media, seven contractors and five Games personnel. The case at the athletes’ village is particularly worrying as the majority of the 11,000 competitors will be staying there.

IOC President Thomas Bach, who is facing unprecedented opposition to an Olympics days before it starts, acknowledged the Japanese public’s concerns. Bach (above) said he was hoping domestic sporting success could help shift the mood from what he said bordered on the aggressive to something more supportive.

‘We are well aware of the scepticism a number of people have here in Japan. We ask and invite the Japanese people, humbly, to welcome and support the athletes from around the world,’ Bach said.

Originally intended to showcase Japan’s recovery from its 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, the Tokyo Olympics has become an exercise in damage limitation.

Postponed for a year, it is being held mostly without spectators and under tight quarantine rules from July 23 to August 8.

With only 20 percent of the population vaccinated, the Japanese public has been wary about hosting the Games at all amid a resurgence in new coronavirus infections and worries that an influx of visitors may create a super-spreader event.