Since July 1, 55 people participating in the Olympics have tested positive for COVID

Since July 1, more than 50 staff members of the Tokyo Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19, and the Olympics are scheduled to open on Friday.

An official told the Associated Press that of the 55 confirmed cases, athletes or other people who may have arrived at the training camp early but have not yet been “governed” by the IOC are not included.

However, several athletes have tested positive, including two South African football players who became the first athletes in the Olympic Village to be infected with the virus. South Korean player Ryu Seungmin is the first IOC member to test positive.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, stated that the risk of athletes transmitting the virus to Japanese or other residents in the village is “zero”.

However, despite strict testing procedures and “soft quarantine” restrictions surrounding Olympic facilities, the arrival of more than 11,000 people has raised concerns that the Olympics will become a major super-spreading event and lead to a surge in cases in Japan.

For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below:

The South African Olympic Committee stated that two South African football players and a team video analyst who also tested positive have been transferred to the “Tokyo 2020 Quarantine Facility.” The remaining team members and officials have also been quarantined.

Also on Sunday, the South African team confirmed that the coach of its seven-a-side rugby team had also tested positive in the pre-Olympic training camp in the southern Japanese city of Kagoshima. The team said he was also quarantined there and will miss the entire rugby game.

There are other positive tests related to the Olympics. Olympic organizers said that another athlete tested positive, even though they did not live in the Olympic village. The athlete was not named, but was identified as “non-Japanese.”

Former long-distance runner and world championship bronze medalist Tegla Loroupe is the mission leader of the IOC Refugee Olympic team. Before the team left the Doha training base in Qatar for Tokyo, she tested positive for COVID-19 and two people who knew her The conditions told the Associated Press. According to the two, the team delayed their arrival in Tokyo, and Loroupe was expected to stay. They requested anonymity because they did not have the right to disclose medical information.

The British Olympic Association said that six athletes and two staff members of the track team were quarantining at the team’s pre-Olympic base in Yokohama after being deemed to have had close contact with a person who tested positive after flying to Japan. American tennis player Coco Goff did not travel to Japan after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Tokyo reported 1,008 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, which is the 29th consecutive day higher than the previous 7 days. This is also the fifth consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases.This Olympic Games In a state of emergency, Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures will be opened.

No Japanese or foreign fans are allowed to participate in any Olympic events in Tokyo and the neighboring three counties. Some remote venues may only allow a small number of local fans to participate, but it has actually become an event that is only watched on TV.

On Sunday, about 200 protesters gathered outside Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo, waving slogans that read “No Olympic Games.” This is the latest in a series of small protests against the Olympics in the past few months.

“This is ignoring human rights and our right to life,” the protester Carlo Itodo told The Associated Press. “Infection is increasing. It is unforgivable to host the Olympics.”

The International Olympic Committee also stated that more than 80% of athletes who will compete in Tokyo will be vaccinated against COVID-19.

But despite the assurance, a positive test five days after the opening ceremony showed that these regulations are not — and impossible — foolproof.

The chief medical officer of the South African team stated that “in accordance with the requirements of Tokyo 2020”, each member of the team has undergone two negative tests before going to Japan. Dr. Phatho Zondi said that they also tested negative when they arrived in Tokyo.

The South African Olympic Committee stated: “Team officials and management have followed all relevant Olympic manual rules, agreements and procedures throughout the pre-match and Olympic arrival procedures.”

The South African team said that coach Neil Powell and the entire South African rugby team were detained in an isolation facility after arriving in Japan because they tested positive for COVID during the flight. They were allowed to leave, but Powell tested positive a few days later.

Team spokesperson JJ Harmse told the Associated Press that Powell was vaccinated against COVID-19 with a one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine in South Africa on May 24.

The South African Olympic Committee and football officials did not immediately confirm whether the two football players and officials who tested positive were vaccinated, although the South African Olympic Committee said in May that it would provide Johnson & Johnson vaccines to all Olympic athletes.

For the two football players and Powell, the Olympics actually ended before they started, because according to Japanese regulations, they must be quarantined for 14 days.

The only way football players may be able to participate in the game is for their team to reach the semi-finals.