The Japanese Health Ministry announced yesterday that after 2 Ugandan athletes tested for Covid turned out to be positive now an athlete within the Serbian Olympic team has turned out to be Covid positive. With only 19 days to go before the beginning of the Tokyo Olympics, the situation seems to have started to go a bit out of hand.
As per reports the athlete from the Serbian Olympic team who tested positive for Covid-19 was a member of the rowing team and is in his 30s and was detected in the airport itself upon arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. According to officials, the athlete is currently being kept in isolation in accordance with the Covid-19 protocols.
The other 4 Serbian athletes travelling with the said athlete were also transported to a facility nearby for isolation. The group of athletes were originally going to Toyama Prefecture in Nanto for training.
However, looking at the present condition it highly unlikely for them to get permission to be trained and will have to remain under isolation for the next 15 at least as per Covid-19 protocols, said the Nanto city government.
Given the current circumstances and the sudden surge in Covid cases along with the threat of a potential fresh wave in Japan, the Japanese government may decide to further lower the previously lowered audience capacity in the Tokyo Olympics this year to 40% capping the maximum audience at 5000.
If the revised protocols for hosting the Tokyo Olympics are applied in light of the surge of Covid-19, 300 out of 750 sessions will be conducted behind closed doors while only 5000 spectators will be allowed into the arena.