Tokyo Olympics: Serbian athlete tests positive for COVID-19 in Japan

TOKYO: A member of the Serbian Olympic squad has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Japan for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which is set to get underway from July 23.

According to a report in Kyodo News which cited Japanese health ministry officials, an athlete of the rowing team was found to have contracted coronavirus when he was tested upon arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Saturday.

The health official said the concerned person has been isolated and four other members, who travelled with him have been sent to a facility near the airport.

The rowing team had been scheduled to train in Nanto in central Japan but their training is likely to be cancelled.

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee's (IOC) President Thomas Bach is set to arrive in Japan on Thursday, July 8, with just over two weeks to go until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Upon his arrival, the IOC President will work remotely. His official programme of in-person and remote meetings with arriving delegations, Games stakeholders and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will then commence on July 12.

His destinations are registered, and his activities will be conducted under the strict rules defined by the Playbooks.

A visit to Hiroshima on July 16 to mark the start of the Olympic Truce is currently being arranged for President Bach. For John Coates, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, a visit to Nagasaki is being planned on this day.

The IOC Executive Board meeting will then take place in Tokyo on July 17 and 18, followed by the 138th IOC Session on July 20.

Tokyo Olympics are slated to go ahead from July 23 to August 8. The Games were scheduled for last year, but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)