They investigate 21 contacts to first positives for COVID-19 in the Olympic Village

Until this Monday, 58 positive cases have been detected in participants to the games, including athletes in the Olympic Village.

The organizing committee of Tokyo 2020 noted this Monday that 21 people have been identified who had close contact with the two South African athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 during his stay at the Olympic Village, the first such cases.

In addition to the athletes, a member of the coaching staff of the same team also tested positive. The latest data offered by the organization shows that there are 21 people who have had close contact with those infected.

By “close contact” are understood those people who have been without wearing a mask for at least 15 minutes at a distance of one meter or less from someone who has tested positive, according to the health safety guidelines of the organization of Tokyo 2020.

The fact that this contact has taken place in closed spaces increases the risk of contagion.

The organizers will carry out tests and other medical examinations to the 21 affected to determine if there have been more infections within the Olympic Village.

Both those infected and their close contacts have been placed in isolation and have refrained from participating in training, according to the protocol of Tokyo 2020.

Close contacts must undergo daily PCR tests, and will only be able to enter competitions if they receive medical approval and are negative in a test carried out six hours before the sporting event in question.

The South Africa national team soccer team is scheduled to face Japan this Thursday in the Olympic tournament of that sport, which will begin before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Friday.

Until this Monday, 58 participants in the games, including the two aforementioned athletes residing in the Villa and two other athletes, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the compulsory tests that all the people involved in the Olympic event undergo from July 1 upon their arrival in Japan and during their stay in the Olympic “bubble”.