Two South African footballers become first athletes to test positive for COVID-19 at Tokyo Olympics

Concerns over COVID-19 continue to grow as two athletes living in the Olympic Village tested positive less than a week before the start of the Tokyo Games. Olympic organizers confirmed positive COVID-19 tests on Sunday July 18 and NPR reports that the two players – Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi – are members of the South African soccer team. The results of their tests have been confirmed by the South African Football Association.

The association followed up on the confirmed results with a statement that the entire team “followed all rules, protocols and procedures in the Olympic Playbook throughout the pre-Games and Games arrival routines.” Mario Masha, video analyst for the South African team, also tested positive, but the rest of the players tested negative.

All South African players tested negative twice before leaving for Japan, said team chief medical officer Dr Phatho Zondi. “The timing of the positive results suggests that the PCR test in these individuals was done during the incubation period of the infection, so they could be negative in South Africa and then positive in Japan,” said Dr. Zondi in the press release. “They are now isolated where they will continue to be monitored and will not be allowed to train or have physical contact with the rest of the squad.”

Olympic organizers announced Sunday (July 18th) that a third “non-Japanese” athlete had tested positive in the Olympic Village, reports the Associated Press. Organizers also confirmed that the first member of the International Olympic Committee tested positive at an airport in Tokyo on Saturday.

As of July 1, 55 people involved in the Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19. Positive tests include athletes and staff who have arrived to train but are not officially under the “jurisdiction” of the organizing committee, reports AP.

Tokyo recorded 1,410 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, based on data compiled by Google. The Olympic Games, which were postponed from last year due to the pandemic, will begin on Friday, July 30 under a state of emergency in Tokyo. The emergency order lasts until August 22, shortly before the start of the Paralympic Games.