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FACTBOX-COVID-19 outbreaks at the Olympics

THE Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be held under unprecedented conditions including tight quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections.

Nevertheless, a number of cases have emerged among athletes and other people involved with the Games.

Following is a list of cases, in chronological order.

JUNE 20 – A coach with Uganda’s squad tests positive on arrival at Narita airport and is quarantined at a government-designated facility. The rest of the team heads by bus for their host city, Izumisano, near Osaka in western Japan.

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JUNE 23 – A Ugandan athlete tests positive, according to Izumisano officials.

JULY 4 – A member of Serbia’s rowing team tests positive on arrival. The other four team members are isolated as close contacts.

JULY 9 – One Lithuanian and one Israeli athlete test positive, according to reports. Later reports say the Lithuanian’s results were unclear and subsequently tested negative.

JULY 14 – A masseur for the Russian women’s rugby sevens team tests positive, forcing the team into isolation for two days, the RIA news agency reports. Officials in Munakata, southwestern Japan, confirm one staff member was hospitalised and say none of the team members could be considered a close contact.

– The refugee Olympic team delays its arrival in Japan after a team official tests positive in Doha. The infected official is in quarantine without symptoms, with 26 of the 29 refugees set to remain in their Doha training camp.

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– Seven staff at a hotel in Hamamatsu, central Japan, where dozens of Brazilian athletes are staying, test positive, a city official says.

– Twenty-one members of the South African rugby team are in isolation after they are believed to have been in close contact with a case on their flight.

JULY 15 – Eight athletes from the Kenya women’s rugby team are classified as close contacts after a positive coronavirus case is found on their flight to Tokyo, says an official with the southwestern city of Kurume, where they were set to hold a training camp.

– U.S. basketball player Bradley Beal’s Olympic dream is cut short when USA Basketball announced he will miss the Games after entering coronavirus protocols at the training camp in Las Vegas.

– An Olympic athlete under a 14-day quarantine period tests positive for the virus before moving to the Olympic Village, the organising committee reports, without giving details. It says one member of the Games personnel and four Tokyo 2020 contractors also tested positive.

JULY 16 – Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur tests positive for COVID-19 before his departure for Tokyo, the Australian Olympic Committee says.

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– A member of the Nigerian Olympics delegation is in hospital after testing positive at Narita airport, according to media reports. The person, in their 60s, has only light symptoms but was admitted to hospital because of their advanced age and pre-existing conditions, TV Asahi says, adding it was the first COVID-19 hospitalisation of an Olympics-related visitor.

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– An Olympic-related non-resident under a 14-day quarantine period tests positive for the virus, the organisers say, without giving further details. Three Tokyo 2020 contractors, all of whom are residents of Japan, also tested positive, organisers say.

JULY 17 – Fifteen people test positive for the virus, the organisers say, including the first case at the athletes’ village – a visitor from abroad involved in organising the Games. The rest are two members of the media, seven contractors and five members of the Games personnel.

JULY 18 – Ten people, including two South African male soccer players staying at the athletes’ village, tested positive for the virus, organisers say. This is the first time athletes have been found positive within the village. The others are one athlete under a 14-day quarantine period, one member of the media, one contractor and five Games personnel.

JULY 19 – Three people – one member of the Games personnel, one member of the media and one contractor – tested positive for the virus, organisers say. Twenty-one people in the South African soccer delegation are categorised as close contacts, following positive test results for two soccer players from that country. The number of close contacts is later revised down to 18.

Those identified as close contacts can still take part in the competition if they are found negative in a test conducted within six hours of the start of their event.

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An alternate on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team tests positive and another alternate is a close contact, USA Gymnastics say. They remain at the team’s training camp just east of Tokyo.

JULY 20 – Nine people, including one athlete staying at the Olympic village, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the organisers say. The other eight were a volunteer worker, a member of the Games personnel and six contractors.

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By The African Mirror

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