Coronavirus cases among Olympics teams likely 'tip of the iceberg', Japan expert says

Eight days ahead of the Tokyo Games, a series of coronavirus scares involving Japanese workers and incoming members of Olympic delegations have prompted a Japanese expert to warn there would likely be more similar cases before the July 23 opening ceremony.

The Kenyan women’s rugby team on Thursday saw eight athletes classified as close contacts after a positive Covid-19 case was found on their flight to Tokyo, according to an official from the southwestern city of Kurume, where they were set to hold a training camp.

On Wednesday, eight workers at a hotel hosting Brazil’s judo team in Hamamatsu city, west of Tokyo, tested positive for Covid-19, although health officials said no one from the 30-member team had direct contact with the affected employees.

The same day, 21 members of South Africa’s rugby team were quarantined after travelling to Tokyo on a plane with a Covid-positive passenger, while the refugee Olympic team has delayed its flight after a team official tested positive in Doha. The infected official is in quarantine without symptoms and 26 of the 29 refugees will remain in their Doha training camp.

A masseur for the Russian women’s rugby sevens team on Wednesday also tested positive for Covid-19. Previously, members of the Ugandan team had tested positive, as well as members of the delegations from France, Ghana and Sri Lanka.

"This is extremely troubling because I am fairly sure that these cases are just the tip of the iceberg," said Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases and a member of the government's Covid-19 advisory committee.

Tateda's concern was compounded by the rising number of cases in Tokyo and a growing "lockdown fatigue" among ordinary Japanese since the introduction on Monday of the capital's fourth state of emergency.

A report by the city government showed that foot traffic in the five busiest areas of the city on Monday, the first day of the new state of emergency, was down a mere 1 per cent from before the restrictions were reimposed.

Tokyo officials reported 1,149 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since January 22 and higher than the peak of the previous wave of the pandemic. The Delta variant presently accounts for about 30 per cent of all cases in the city, but experts anticipate this will climb above 60 per cent before the end of July.

Another unwelcome milestone was also marked on Wednesday, with Japan’s Covid-19 death toll surpassing the 15,000 threshold.

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“We believe it is a good thing the government has brought back the state of emergency and has decided that spectators will not be permitted into the stadiums for Olympic events,” Tateda told This Week in Asia. “We have learned from the last wave and we know that the early imposition of a state of emergency will be effective in suppressing the coming wave.”

Nevertheless, Tokyo has still not yet reached its high point in this surge and numbers are likely to continue for another week at least, Tateda said. Some models have suggested that cases in Tokyo may surpass 2,000 a day.

“It is very unfortunate that so many people are still going out as that has undoubtedly contributed to the present wave of infections, but we hope the government’s measures will have an impact sooner rather than later,” he said.

About one-third of Japan’s 126 million people have had one dose of the vaccine, with less than 20 per cent fully inoculated.

Despite the rising caseload, preparations for the Games continue across the city and more athletes are moving into their quarters at the Olympic Village, alongside Tokyo Bay.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday and promised “not to bring any risk” to the people of Japan with the Games.

“We are making all our efforts and the Japanese people have all our commitment to contribute in the best way to fight this virus and not to bring any risk to the Japanese people,” Bach said.

National broadcaster NHK quoted Bach as adding, “85 per cent of all the residents in the Olympic Village and almost 100 per cent of the IOC members and staff coming here to Tokyo are vaccinated”.

Media reports have suggested that Emperor Naruhito will officially declare the Olympics open on Friday, although other members of the royal family are unlikely to attend the opening ceremony or other events.

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The 61-year-old emperor is an honorary patron of both the Olympics and the Paralympics, which are scheduled to open on Aug 24, a little over two weeks after the Olympics conclude.

It appears likely that the emperor will cut an isolated figure in the new, 68,000-seat National Stadium as organisers are reportedly planning to limit the number of people at the opening ceremony to less than 1,000 VIPs and dignitaries.

In an attempt to give the ceremony and subsequent competitions an air of normality, organisers will broadcast the noise of a crowd into the stadium, while another bid to reduce the possibility of infection among athletes will see medal winners presented with a tray bearing their medals and invited to hang their awards around their own necks.

Bach has also confirmed there will be no handshakes or hugs during the ceremony.

Promises from the organisers and the Japanese government about public safety appear to be falling on deaf ears, however, with a new poll by Ipsos finding that 78 per cent of Japanese are opposed to the Olympics going ahead, even at this late stage.

On Thursday, a Japanese lawyer who has campaigned against the Games was due to hand over a petition to the metropolitan government bearing more than 450,000 names calling for the Olympics to be cancelled.

Kenji Utsunomiya began his campaign in May and said while he was initially in favour of the Games, the global pandemic meant that it was “not possible” to go ahead with the event at the moment.

It is considered unlikely that the organisers will be swayed by the appeal.

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.