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First Covid case hits the Tokyo Olympics Village: Organisers say 'foreign national' has tested positive at compound where 11,000 athletes are staying with six days until opening ceremony

Tokyo Olympics organisers have detected the first Covid-19 case inside the Games Village - just six days before the opening ceremony. 

According to Japanese media, the infected person is a 'foreign national' who tested positive on Friday and is now 'confined to a hotel.'

The nationality of the individual is not being disclosed to 'protect their privacy' but officials said they are part of the organising team. 

The case is the first to be detected at the 44-hectare athletes' village on Tokyo's waterfront - where officials and the majority of the 11,000 competing athletes will be staying over the coming weeks. 

Teams from all four corners of the globe are just starting to arrive for the Games, which will run from July 23 to August 8. 

Hundreds of athletes and officials, including from Australia, Nepal, Korea, South Africa and Brazil, have arrived at Narita International Airport today - where they must all take a mandatory anti-gen Covid-19 test. 

Each international team is being kept in their own cordoned off area at the airport after landing, before each athlete, coach or official fills out a health form before being tested.  

Organisers hope such measures will ease safety concerns but the Games, which have been delayed by a year due to the pandemic, are receiving pushback from large parts of the Japanese public who fear a fresh wave of infections could wreak havoc on the country's health system - especially as only 20% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Protestors have taken to the streets of the Japanese capital in recent weeks - including today - to demand an end to the event, with scores of people seen holding up signs reading 'Cancel the Tokyo Olympics'. 

Security staff guard the entrance of the Athletes Village in Tokyo, Japan, where an organiser has tested positive for Covid-19

Security staff guard the entrance of the Athletes Village in Tokyo, Japan, where an organiser has tested positive for Covid-19

Members of the Canadian Olympic team stand outside a facility outside the Games Village, where a person has tested positive for Covid-19

Members of the Canadian Olympic team stand outside a facility outside the Games Village, where a person has tested positive for Covid-19

Members of Team Australia wait to take an anti-gen Covid test after arriving in Tokyo on Saturday

Members of Team Australia wait to take an anti-gen Covid test after arriving in Tokyo on Saturday 

Team Australia on their way to be tested for Covid at Narita International Airport in Japan

Team Australia on their way to be tested for Covid at Narita International Airport in Japan

Australian athletes fill out forms and sit in long rows inside Narita airport, Tokyo, as they await Covid testing

Australian athletes fill out forms and sit in long rows inside Narita airport, Tokyo, as they await Covid testing

Protestors demand a stop to the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Saturday while holding up signs reading: 'Cancel the Tokyo Olympics'

Protestors demand a stop to the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Saturday while holding up signs reading: 'Cancel the Tokyo Olympics'

Team Nepal is one of many arriving today and given its own cordoned off waiting area at Narita International airport, as medical staff in PPE take them through the Covid testing protocol

Team Nepal is one of many arriving today and given its own cordoned off waiting area at Narita International airport, as medical staff in PPE take them through the Covid testing protocol 

Team Nepal waits for its athletes and officials to be tested after landing in Tokyo for the Olympic Games

Team Nepal waits for its athletes and officials to be tested after landing in Tokyo for the Olympic Games

The Netherlands have let the world know they have arrived as they hang their flag and bright orange 'Team NL' signage from their roomsTeam France spells out their country with six huge sheets which spread over two floors of the accommodation at the Athletes Village

National teams have already begun arriving to the Athletes Village and have been seen hanging flags from the balconies of their rooms 

Brazil's team have unfurled several banners carrying their country's name, with each one spreading across six floorsTeam Belgium and Austria have also arrived and are staying above one another at the accommodation in the Athletes Village

Brazil's team have unfurled six banners carrying their country's name, with each one spreading across six floors

The South Korean football team arrive to Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games, which will begin on July 23 with the opening ceremony

The South Korean football team arrive to Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games, which will begin on July 23 with the opening ceremony 

Members of the South African team wait at Narita airport to have their mandatory anti-gen Covid test

Members of the South African team wait at Narita airport to have their mandatory anti-gen Covid test 

The Brazilian team, including gymnast Arthur Nory (top right corner), await Covid testing at Narita airport in Tokyo

The Brazilian team, including gymnast Arthur Nory (top right corner), await Covid testing at Narita airport in Tokyo

A convoy of 75 buses perform a test run of transporting athletes to the Olympic Village in Tokyo

A convoy of 75 buses perform a test run of transporting athletes to the Olympic Village in Tokyo

People stand being protective barriers and fences as they snap a photo of the Athletes Village in Tokyo

People stand being protective barriers and fences as they snap a photo of the Athletes Village in Tokyo

Organisers said on Saturday a person had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday inside the athletes' village (pictured)

Organisers said on Saturday a person had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday inside the athletes' village

The virus was detected in a visitor from abroad who is involved in organising the Games, officials said (rooms in the Olympic Village pictured)

The virus was detected in a visitor from abroad who is involved in organising the Games, officials said (rooms in the Olympic Village pictured)

The opening ceremony is set to take place at the new National Stadium in Tokyo (pictured), which was completed in 2019 at a cost of more than £1 billion

The opening ceremony is set to take place at the new National Stadium in Tokyo , which was completed in 2019 at a cost of more than £1 billion

It came after a survey by the leading Asahi Shimbun newspaper in May found that 83% of the Japanese public do not want the Games to happen.  

Speaking on the new Covid case discovered within the Athletes' Village, Masa Takaya, spokesman for the Tokyo organising committee, told a press conference: 'There was one person in the Village.

'That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test. 

'Right now this person is confined to a hotel.'  

Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organiser of the Tokyo 2020 Games, said organisers were ready to respond swiftly if there was a wider outbreak.

'We are doing everything to prevent any Covid outbreaks,' she said.

'If we end up with an outbreak we will make sure we have a plan in place to respond.'

Hashimoto conceded that competitors at the Games would be anxious about the virus situation - and she vowed that organisers would not hide cases.

She said: 'Athletes who are coming to Japan are probably very worried. I understand that.

'That is the reason why we need to make full disclosure.'

She added: 'I understand that there are still many worrying factors. 

'Organisers must try to make sure that people will understand that these games are safe and secure,' 

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said it was not yet known if the person who tested positive in the Olympics Village had been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Tokyo 2020's president Seiko Hashimoto has acknowledged the public's concerns as fearsof a fresh Covid wave mount

Tokyo 2020's president Seiko Hashimoto has acknowledged the public's concerns as fearsof a fresh Covid wave mount

A police officer patrols the outer perimeter of the Athletes Village, where one organiser has tested positive for Covid-19

A police officer patrols the outer perimeter of the Athletes Village, where one organiser has tested positive for Covid-19

A man uses binoculars to take a peek at the Athletes Village, where 11,000-plus officials and athletes will stay during the Games

A man uses binoculars to take a peek at the Athletes Village, where 11,000-plus officials and athletes will stay during the Games 

Team GB's performance lodge, a venue for quiet training during Games-time, is situated in the Odaiba area of Tokyo and is already awash with the Union Jack

Team GB's performance lodge, a venue for quiet training during Games-time, is situated in the Odaiba area of Tokyo and is already awash with the Union Jack 

Team Italy's signage is draped over 10 floors of an apartment buildingTeam Germany spreads its black, red and yellow flag colours across its balconies at the Olympic village accommodation

Italy and Germany among the dozens of countries to begin hanging their flags from their apartments at the Olympic Village in Tokyo

Members of the media are given a tour of the 44-hectare Games Village in Tokyo, which has detected its first Covid case

Members of the media are given a tour of the 44-hectare Games Village in Tokyo, which has detected its first Covid case

Olympic athletes will all stay inside tall residential buildings for the duration of their time in Japan

Olympic athletes will all stay inside tall residential buildings for the duration of their time in Japan

'We don't have any information on whether this person was vaccinated or not,' Muto said.

He said competitors at the Games would be tested every day 'so if someone tests positive, that person will be isolated immediately whether there are any close contacts or not'. 

The Japanese public fear an influx of visitors may create a super-spreader event, straining an already-stretched health system. 

Only around 20% of Japan is fully vaccinated against coronavirus, meaning a new wave could have serious health consequences.   

So far, more than 40 people involved in the Games, including both domestic and foreign nationals, have tested positive for coronavirus.   

A key part of the anti-contagion measures is daily saliva testing of the athletes who take part, as well as frequent testing of others involved in the event. 

Visitors' movements are also due to be monitored and restricted.

But in a sign that organisers were already finding rules difficult to enforce, Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko went missing from his team's training site in Osaka on Friday.

People in Tokyo hold signs calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as up to 83% of the public are outraged they are going ahead

People in Tokyo hold signs calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as up to 83% of the public are outraged they are going ahead

A replica of a bedroom in the Games Village, including its furniture and cardboard beds, is pictured in a display room

A replica of a bedroom in the Games Village, including its furniture and cardboard beds, is pictured in a display room

Team Korea hangs its logo and recognisable flag from the balconies of its Olympic Village apartments

Team Korea hangs its logo and recognisable flag from the balconies of its Olympic Village apartments 

Athletes can also use a dry cleaning booth whilst on site, helping them to focus on the Games

Athletes can also use a dry cleaning booth whilst on site, helping them to focus on the Games

Authorities are still looking for him, according to Games organisers. 

Media reports said he left behind a note saying he wanted to stay and work in Japan, as life in Uganda was difficult.  

Tokyo reported 1,149 new cases on Wednesday, the highest since figure in almost six months, beaten only on January 22, when 1,184 were reported. 

It was also the 25th straight day that cases were higher than they were a week earlier.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga this week that 85 per cent of the athletes and officials living in the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay will be fully vaccinated.

He added that almost 100 per cent of IOC members and IOC staff were 'vaccinated or immune.' 

Spectators have already been banned from Olympic venues to protect athletes and organisers.  

The opening ceremony will take place at the new £1 billion National Stadium in Tokyo on July 23.

OUTBREAKS AT THE OLYMPICS

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.

JUNE 23 - A Ugandan athlete tests positive, Izumisano officials said.

JULY 4 - A member of Serbia's Olympic 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, confirmed one staff member was hospitalised and said none of the team members could be considered close contacts.

- The refugee Olympic team delayed its arrival in Japan following a positive case with a team official in Doha. The infected official is in quarantine without symptoms and 26 of the 29 refugees will remain in their Doha training camp.

- Seven staff at a hotel in Hamamatsu, central Japan, where dozens of Brazilian athletes are staying, have tested positive, a city official said.

- 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 were classified as close contacts after a positive coronavirus case was found on their flight to Tokyo, said an official with the southwestern city of Kurume, where they were set to hold a training camp.

- U.S. basketball star Bradley Bealâs Olympic dream was cut short when USA Basketball announced the Washington Wizards star will miss the Tokyo Games after he entered coronavirus protocols at the training camp in Las Vegas.

- An Olympic athlete under a 14-day quarantine period tested positive for the virus, but had not yet moved to the Olympic Village, the organising committee's website reported, without giving further details. They said one member of the Games personnel and four Tokyo 2020 contractors had also tested positive.

JULY 16 - Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur tested positive for COVID-19 prior to his departure for the Tokyo Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee said.

- A member of the Nigerian Olympics delegation who tested positive for the coronavirus at Narita airport on Thursday has been admitted to a hospital, media said. The person, in their 60s, had only light symptoms but was hospitalised because of their advanced age and pre-existing conditions, TV Asahi said, adding it was the first COVID-19 hospitalisation of an Olympics-related visitor. No further details were available.

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

JULY 17 - 15 people tested positive for the virus, the organisers said, including the first case at the athletes' village, who is a visitor from abroad and is involved in organising the Games. The rest are two members of the media, seven contractors and five members of the Games personnel.

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