Tokyo Olympics records 1st COVID-19 case from overseas team

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

One member from the Uganda Olympic team tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Japan for the Olympics.

According to a report by NHK, nine athletes and a pool of coaches arrived from the delegation of Uganda and one of them tested positive for the virus after a screening test at the airport.

The athlete who was tested positive was then brought to the government and Olympics designated facility while the rest of the team headed to Osaka where they will be fielding their training camp.

This is the first recorded positive case from a participating country in the 2021 Olympics since the arrival of the Australian women’s softball squad last June 1.

It was also confirmed that before arriving in Japan, all members of the delegation from Uganda received complete doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Also, the members tested negative 72 hours before departing for Japan. However, with the outcome of the result, the team must comply with the health and safety protocols imposed by the Olympic committee.

Teams from the different participating countries are slowly planning their arrival in Japan with the prestigious sporting tournament set to take place on July 23.