The second positive for the Covid virus for an athlete upon his arrival in Tokyo

An athlete from the Serbian Olympic team tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday upon arrival in Japan, three weeks before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. And the injured athlete, the second known case, has already been isolated, Kyodo News Agency reported, after he tested positive for the antigens conducted at Haneda Airport.

The injured arrived with four other members of the Balkan delegation, who were taken to the facilities designated by the Japanese government. The team had planned to travel to the town of Nantou, in Toyama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, where they planned to spend the weeks before the start of the competition to train and acclimatize to the country.

Athlete from the Ugandan delegation, the first case

The positivity in the Serbian team is the second of its kind ever after the infection was discovered upon the Ugandan team’s arrival on June 19. This case caused an uproar and led to tighter border controls on Olympic delegations, as a second case after the positive case was discovered at the airport among another team member, who was allowed to travel in a private bus to his host. city. Drivers and several municipal officials have been placed in quarantine.

The celebration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games amid the spread of the epidemic has sparked concern among the Japanese population, who fear that the sporting event will become a focus of infection or contribute to the emergence of some serious stress, given the high number of people. participate in its celebration. Uganda and Serbia are the only cases of this kind that have emerged so far.

Visitors near the Olympic rings in Tokyo

KIMIMASA MAYAMA / EFE

In recent weeks, teams and athletes from Singapore, Denmark, Argentina and Portugal have arrived in the country without incident. Only on July 1, more than 500 people participating in the games arrived in the archipelago. All tests were negative, according to information from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Organizers of the Games, which are set to open on July 23, have implemented a series of anti-virus measures with which they aspire to hold a “safe” sports competition.