Tokyo:
Japan plans to ask Olympic athletes from India and 5 other nations hit really hard by the extremely infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus to have each day virus tests for seven days ahead of leaving for the Games, a Japanese newspaper stated on Sunday.
Currently, all overseas athletes are getting asked to have coronavirus tests twice for the duration of the 4-day period ahead of their departure for the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to get started on July 23 soon after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.
The Japanese government aims to place the new rule, which will be applied to athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, into impact on July 1, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, devoid of citing sources.
Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa stated on Friday a member of the Ugandan Olympic group who tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival had the Delta variant, adding to concern the Games could trigger a new wave of infections.
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