Olympic Village gets its first Covid case: Organisers

Tokyo Olympics organisers revealed the first Covid-19 case in the Games Village on Saturday as they sought to reassure competitors that the pandemic-delayed event would be safe.

Six days before the opening ceremony, organisers said an unnamed person had tested positive for coronavirus in the Village, where thousands of athletes and officials will stay during the Games. "There was one person in the Village. That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test," Masa Takaya, spokesman for the Tokyo organising committee, told a press conference.

"Right now this person is confined to a hotel," Takaya said.

According to Japanese media, the person who had tested positive was a foreign national. The Games are facing opposition from the Japanese public, who fear a fresh wave of infections.

Seiko Hashimoto, the chief organiser of the Tokyo 2020 Games, said organisers were ready to respond swiftly if there was a wider outbreak.

He said competitors at the Games would be tested every day "so if someone tests positive, that person will be isolated immediately whether there are any close contacts or not".