Tokyo Olympics: First Covid-19 case found at athletes' village
Affected individual is from overseas and identified as "Games-concerned personnel" and been placed into a 14-day quarantine; organisers previously stated Olympic village would be "safest place" in Tokyo; delayed Olympics runs from July 23 to August 8
Last Updated: 20/07/21 11:02am
An official has become the first resident at the Tokyo Olympics athletes' village to test positive for Covid-19, Games organisers confirmed on Saturday.
The affected individual from overseas tested negative on arrival in Japan but subsequently tested positive in a test taken in the screening process inside the village.
The person is identified as "Games-concerned personnel", and has been placed into a 14-day quarantine.
The news will be a big concern for organisers who have previously stated the Olympic Village would be the "safest place" in Tokyo.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed for a year due to the global pandemic, is being held mostly without spectators and under tight quarantine rules from July 23 through to August 8.
Organisers also confirmed the number of positive cases among those linked to the Games has risen to 44. At least five athletes are among this number.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government reported 1,410 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday - the highest single-day spike in nearly six months and topping 1,000 for the fourth straight day.
Over 15000 accredited people for the Olympics, including athletes, officials and media, arrived in Japan from abroad between July 1-July 16, with 15 testing positive on arrival.
Twelve of those positive cases have been recorded since July 13.
