The “secret” life of the Tokyo Olympics proceeds quietly. All in all, the infected in the Village and among the stakeholders of the event are always contained: less than 100 people out of over 35 thousand who have arrived here in the capital of the Rising Sun, with a positive rate of 0.2%. The public life of the Games, on the other hand, two days after the inauguration ceremony scheduled for 13 local time on 23 July, appears increasingly chaotic, with statements more than concerned by the Japanese authorities which seem to be spent, however, for the use and consumption of internal politics to support the overwhelming majority of the population opposed to the event.
In the capital
Around Tokyo, the tangible signs of the Olympics – billboards, banners, advertisements and sponsorships – are reduced to a minimum. On the sides of the buses that accompany the operators between the various hubs, as on the taxis incorporated into the organization, there are rare references and sporadic sponsorships to the races. Official statistics say that 3836 new infections have been recorded, with 20 deaths, in the last 24 hours (Japan has 15 thousand deaths since the beginning of the pandemic out of 120 million inhabitants and about 850 thousand infections). On April 29th there was a baby of about 8 thousand infected in one day and 248 deaths. Numbers that are not huge in relation to the population, but which worry the authorities and citizens of Tokyo especially in relation to the fact that the double dose vaccine was inoculated to less than a quarter of the population (only Pfizer was authorized in May) in a mix deleterious of skepticism and bureaucratic delays. According to data from Jhons Hopkins University, almost 72 million doses have been administered to about 28.5 million fully vaccinated Japanese, or 23% of the population.
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The WHO appeal
Meanwhile, the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke at the IOC session before the opening of the Games: «The world must show the same Olympic qualities to beat the virus. It takes determination, dedication and discipline. Unfortunately, zero risk is utopia, but you did your best. The number one of the world health organization then added: “Our race is not against others, but all together in one direction against Covid-19”.
In the Olympic circuit
The positive tests among those related to the Olympics since 1 July are 75 and four other positive tests have been recorded in the Japanese prefectures where the various teams are gathered to complete the preparation. For the athletes who had close contact with the positives it was done in a briefing attended by the IOC and the organizing committee. If there is no doubt about the isolation in the room to which the two South African players and the representative of the staff are subjected in the village, and from today also the Czech beach player, the question of how to deal with all those who from the tracking app that each accredited person had to download for Tokyo 2020 indication they have had close contacts with the positives.
The objective of the IOC is “to isolate these people and allow them to continue preparing for competitions”. This is why “we will create the conditions for them to do the minimum necessary to prepare themselves,” explained Pierre Ducrey, IOC deputy director of the Games. Screened every day by nasopharyngeal tests, invited to eat in the room and transported “by dedicated means”, they must “train separately” but are not forced to complete isolation, according to the IOC. The “close contacts” are monitored by a group of independent experts, who take into account their vaccination status, monitor their tests and decide when they can return with the rest of the team.