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The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, urged the Japanese public to host the Olympics when they begin on July 23 and insisted that they will be “safe and secure” despite a positive Covid test in the village of athletes.
While acknowledging widespread skepticism in Japan, Bach said more than 15,000 people had arrived for the Olympics, including 15 who tested positive. He also said the Games would be the most restrictive sporting event in the world, limiting the possibility of widespread infections.
Toshiro Muto, director general of the Tokyo Olympic Games Organizing Committee, confirmed on Saturday that a foreign visitor involved in the organization of the Games had tested positive. He did not disclose the person’s nationality, citing privacy concerns, but said she had been placed in a 14-day quarantine.
The case worries organizers and the IOC, who had promised the village would be Tokyo’s “safest place”, but Bach said it was important to get the big picture. At the IOC’s first press conference for these Games, he said the rate of positive tests was “very low at just 0.1%”.
“It goes without saying that all the people were immediately isolated and they did not [present] no risk for the Japanese people, ”he added.
The Japanese public has been lukewarm about the Games after a resurgence of new coronavirus infections and fear that an influx of foreign visitors could help make it a super-spreading event, which in turn could further strain the the country’s already stretched medical system.
But Bach said: “We are very aware of the skepticism in Japan. My appeal to the Japanese people is to welcome these athletes who are here for the competition of a lifetime and to recognize that it is not at any cost.
“They have the same interest as the Japanese people in making sure these Games are safe and secure. And for that, they accept and even welcome the measures which make these Olympic Games the most restricted sporting event not only in Japan but in the whole world.
“What will make the Games so historic is the demonstration that they can take place in a safe and secure manner, even under the circumstances of this pandemic.”
At least five athletes have tested positive for Covid-19 since arriving in Japan for the Games, while the Olympic refugee team was forced to delay their trip to Tokyo after one of its delegations also returned a test positive.
However, Bach stressed that the chances of Covid significantly affecting the Games were low. “None of the sporting events in the world have such strict anti-Covid protocols as these Olympics,” he said. “The Japanese will hopefully also gain confidence in the very rigorous testing and very rigorous immediate action.”
This message was reinforced by Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto. When asked if she was concerned about the spread of the Delta variant of Covid, she said: “We are doing everything we can to make sure it is secure against Covid.” Still, she admitted that some athletes who have yet to make it to Tokyo “are probably very worried” about the situation.
As more athletes moved to the Athletes’ Village, the South Korean team was ordered to remove banners from balconies after upsetting officials of a Japanese far-right party . According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the message on the banners read “I still have the support of 50 million Koreans” – a reference to comments made by Admiral Yi Sun-sin before defeating the Japanese navy. in 1597, despite its numerical inferiority.
There was also a protest outside the Athletes’ Village on Friday, with members of the National Party of Japan holding the Rising Sun Flag, formerly used by the Imperial Japanese Army.
When asked if Bach supported New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in becoming the first trans woman to compete in the Olympics, he dodged the question and said: “The rules are in place and the rules must be. applied. You cannot change the rules during an ongoing qualification system. This is what all athletes in the world rely on.
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