Two athletes inside the Tokyo Olympic Village have tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports, bringing the number of positive cases inside the Village to three. The first person who tested positive is a non-resident, “games-concerned personnel” and not an athlete, according to officials.

The non-athlete tested positive on Friday and is now quarantining in a hotel for 14 days. All three people are from the same country and are isolating in separate rooms, officials said.

“We are sparing no efforts,” Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo organizing committee, said on ensuring the Olympic Village is as safe as possible.

More than 40 people connected to the Olympics have tested positive since July 1 — most of them contractors from Japan.

COVID-19 cases have been surging in Tokyo leading up to the Games. The 1,308 new cases reported on Thursday, a week before the Opening Ceremony, was a six-month high.

“We need to stay on alert,” Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday.

IOC president Thomas Bach said on Saturday that of the 15,000 people who have arrived in Tokyo for the Olympics, 15 had tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival.

“In the current situation, that positive cases arise is something we must assume is possible,” Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee, said on Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had previously declared a state of emergency in Tokyo — the fourth since the pandemic began — that will last through Aug. 22. International and local fans will be banned from the stands.

The Tokyo Games start on July 23 and will run through Aug. 8.

Advertisement