Olympic athlete and five other personnel test positive for COVID-19

An unnamed Olympic athlete and five other personnel for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19, organizers announced Thursday. The announcement comes amid growing concern over the potential spread of the virus at the games. 

Officials said the athlete, who is not a resident of Japan, has been placed under a 14-day quarantine period. Four local contractors and one "Games-connected personnel" also tested positive. 

Of the 26 cases that organizers have announced in July, only one has been an athlete. The vast majority of the cases were reported among local contractors. The tally does not include positive cases that were reported outside of Japan, according to The Associated Press.

A week ago, Japan's olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa announced that spectators won't be allowed at Olympic venues this year due to a state of emergency imposed in response to the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions are scheduled to remain in effect until late August, when Japan hopes to have 40% of its population fully vaccinated against the virus. 

There have been 831,587 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Japan and 14,965 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On Thursday, authorities reported more than 1,300 COVID-19 cases, the highest since January 21, The Associated Press said.