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TOKYO – Local officials are looking for a Ugandan athlete who disappeared in western Japan on Friday in a case raising questions about Japanese organizers’ surveillance of Olympic participants amid local concerns over the coronavirus.
The missing 20-year-old was training with the nine-member Ugandan team in Izumisano, Osaka prefecture, city officials said. An Izumisano municipal government official identified the missing athlete as Julius Ssekitoleko.
Teammates realized the athlete was out around noon on Friday when his saliva test sample was not delivered and they found his hotel room empty, city officials said. There was no training on Friday morning and he was last seen in his room in the early hours of Friday.
After not finding him inside the hotel, the authorities informed the police of a wider search. There was no 24-hour surveillance at the hotel, and it was not known when and how he left the hotel, officials said.
The pandemic-delayed Olympics begin on July 23 despite growing concerns over the surge in infections in Tokyo. The host city reported 1,271 cases on Friday, after peaking in six months at 1,308 the day before.
The Ugandan team has previously appeared in Japan’s health and surveillance system.
Upon arrival at Narita International Airport on June 19, one member of the team tested positive and was quarantined there, while the remaining eight members were allowed to travel more than 300 miles on a chartered bus. to Izumisano, their pre-Olympic camp in western Osaka prefecture.
Days later, a second member of the East African team tested positive for the virus, forcing seven city officials and drivers who had close contact with the team to self-isolate. . Health officials said the two infected Ugandans had the delta variant.
Both team members have since ended their quarantine requirement and the team has been training since July 7.
The case prompted Japanese authorities to step up border controls and change the isolation policy to force entire groups to self-quarantine in airport areas when a member tests positive.
While Japanese authorities have demanded the use of health and location apps, and restricted activity in a “bubble” to completely isolate athletes from the Japanese public, violations have been reported.
The monitors promised earlier by Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa have not been seen operating at a number of hotels. Marukawa told reporters on Friday she was asking organizers to step up measures and increase surveillance staff at hotels to ensure the rules are followed.
Arata yamamoto contributed.
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