Original title: The Olympics “epidemic bubble” is accused of being full of loopholes, and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee warns offenders
The Beijing News (trainee reporter Xiang Chenyu) On the sixth day of the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, the epidemic in Tokyo has further intensified, reigniting people’s concerns about the safety of the Olympics.
According to Japan’s “Mainichi Shimbun” report, on July 28, the number of new confirmed cases of new crown in Tokyo has set a new record for two consecutive days, breaking through 3,000 cases for the first time on the 28th, reaching a record-breaking 3177 cases. At the same time, the number of Olympic-related personnel diagnosed with the new crown is also increasing. According to the Kyodo News Agency of Japan, so far, the cumulative number of infections among Olympic-related personnel has reached 169.
In order to ensure the safety and health of Olympic personnel, the Tokyo Olympics chose to adopt the “epidemic bubble” system to prevent athletes and other Olympic-related personnel from contacting local Japanese people or tourists. However, Japanese media observation and analysis pointed out that there are still many loopholes in this system.
Regarding the phenomenon of non-wearing masks during the Olympic Games and other violations of epidemic prevention regulations, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee stated on July 27 that it had issued written notices to the National and Regional Olympic Committees of the country or region to which the violator belongs. Form a “serious warning”. The Tokyo Olympics epidemic prevention policy “Rule Collection” also pointed out that if athletes violate the rules, they may be deprived of their qualifications or fined.
Cannot be completely isolated from ordinary travelers when arriving in Japan
The “epidemic bubble” system to ensure the safety of Olympic-related personnel was activated the moment they arrived in Japan, but Japanese local media reporters observed on multiple sites that there were vulnerabilities that could not be ignored in the first ring at the beginning. .
According to Japan’s “Mainichi Shimbun” report, at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, which welcomes a large number of Olympic delegations, several athletes did not wear masks and fans crossed the isolation line to get close to the athletes.
In addition, in accordance with the epidemic prevention regulations, overseas Olympic delegations need to complete two nucleic acid tests within the first four days of entering Japan. After arriving at the airport, they also need to undergo rapid nucleic acid tests on the spot, and they can leave after obtaining a negative test report. But this important inspection process is also accidentally frequent.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the liaison officers responsible for guiding the newly arrived Olympic delegation to the airport quarantine station often see chaos on the scene. Athletes of some small delegations would get mixed up with ordinary passengers around when they walked out of the exit, and the liaison officer on the spot would shout for the surrounding staff to isolate them after seeing this.
A more serious problem is that there may be COVID-19 carriers among other passengers on the same flight as the Olympic delegation. On July 13, 21 people from the South African Rugby Olympic delegation arrived at Narita Airport. Nucleic acid tests on the scene were all negative. However, a passenger who was diagnosed with the new crown appeared on his flight, and 18 people in the delegation were identified as close contacts, including 14 players and 4 team staff. This caused the team to cancel its trip to the Kagoshima training camp and stay in a designated local hotel for isolation.
But 3 days later, the South African Rugby Team issued a statement stating that the South African Sports Federation and the Olympic Committee (SASCOC) have confirmed that after thorough review and evaluation, 17 of the 18 delegations are no longer considered close contacts and will Approved to participate in the event held on July 26. Another team manager continued to be quarantined as a close contact. However, two days later, coach Neil Powell was diagnosed with the new crown in the South African rugby team that went to Kagoshima for training.
A Japanese official in charge of border control said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun that the “epidemic bubble” system is only nominal, and it is impossible to completely isolate the Olympic delegation from ordinary tourists.
After arriving at the residence, there is no guarantee to complete the self-quarantine for the specified number of days
Japanese media also pointed out that in the residences and workplaces of Olympic-related personnel, the “epidemic prevention bubble” also seemed to burst at the touch of a touch.
The Olympic Anti-epidemic Manual stipulates that the delegation and related persons must be isolated for at least 3 days after arriving in Japan. During this period, they cannot leave the Olympic village or hotel where they are staying. They can only apply for going out unless there are necessary Olympic-related activities.
However, the manager of a hotel responsible for receiving Olympic-related personnel told the Asahi Shimbun that it is not known whether all Olympic-related personnel have consciously abided by this regulation. Because the hotel has no way to ensure that everyone abides by this rule, the staff cannot know the number of days that every Olympic-related person staying in Japan has entered Japan, “This is not even within the scope of our work.”
At the entrance of the hotel, there is a private security guard dispatched by the Olympic Games organizer to observe the movements of the relevant people in the Olympic Games and ensure that they travel only in specially arranged vehicles. But the hotel manager said, “It’s unrealistic to check everyone’s movements.”
In addition, Japanese media pointed out that there are indeed TV footages that have captured Olympic-related people walking outside the Olympic Village. This shows that there is indeed a violation of the rules of the Olympic organizers prohibiting private travel.
In response, Japan’s Olympic Minister Marukawa Suyo said at a cabinet meeting on July 15 that he had urged the Olympic Organizing Committee to identify relevant personnel who violated the Olympic epidemic prevention regulations as soon as possible and take strict disciplinary actions. She also stated that more stringent epidemic prevention and control measures will be implemented at the residences of relevant people in the Olympics, and a brochure will be produced so that they can better understand the epidemic prevention rules.
Tokyo public health expert Kenji Shibuya also said in an interview with Reuters on July 20 that the Olympic “epidemic bubble” system has been somewhat broken. “It is clear that the guests (Olympic related personnel) and the locals There seems to be some interaction between them. Athletes and reporters have not been quarantined for 14 days.”
In addition, some media analysts believe that the current epidemic prevention measures in the Olympic venues and media workplaces are still not up to standard. “Time” magazine pointed out that in the main news center of the Olympic Games or the press room of the competition venue, there are generally 100 to 300 news workers gathered. There is only a transparent glass plate on their workbench as a partition, and it is difficult to maintain a prescribed safe social distance between them when working. In addition, after each Olympic event, athletes will be required to take off their masks and be photographed by the media, which greatly increases their risk of inhaling viruses that may be in the air.
There is still a potential risk of infection while using dedicated transportation
Within the first 14 days of entering Japan, people involved in the Olympics are prohibited from using local public transportation in Japan and can only take Olympic buses or taxis. However, Japan’s National Automobile Transport Union Federation believes that there is still a potential risk of new crown virus infection in taxis that are dedicated to picking up people related to the Olympics.
A total of about 32,000 taxi drivers in Japan have applied to join the Olympic dedicated car team. This dedicated taxi shuttle service was fully launched on July 9 and is open to people involved in Olympic events, including media personnel and event sponsors. After completing the task of picking up people, the inside of the taxi will be ventilated and disinfected, and then the pick-up service will start again.
According to the “Mainichi Shimbun” report, the National Automobile Transport Union Federation of Japan issued a statement on July 12, requesting the Olympic Organizing Committee to adjust the transportation mode of Olympic-related personnel, and stated that taxi drivers and Olympic-related personnel riding in the future will be affected. The risk of contracting the new crown virus is extremely high. The reasons for this include the lack of a barrier separating the driver and passengers in the taxi, creating a loophole for the “epidemic bubble”.
In addition, in other Olympic buses, the risk of infection also exists. In the bus, passengers are in a crowded space, and in many cases they can only remain standing, unable to maintain the safe social distance they deserve.
Harvard University bioengineering faculty David Edwards said in an interview with Time magazine that buses are a typical super-spreading place. When the windows are not opened, the air cannot circulate well, and people will inhale 1 million every day. To 100 million droplets, 80% of which are floating in the air due to their low mass. Even if people wear masks, there are a lot of droplets on and around their heads.
Regarding the risk of virus transmission caused by droplets in the air, a study in the well-known medical journal “New England Journal of Medicine” pointed out that the International Olympic Committee did not adopt scientific and effective methods when formulating epidemic prevention rules. Because the new crown virus can spread through floating particles that stay in the air, air filters should be placed in Olympic-related residences, restaurants, and Olympic transportation vehicles. In addition, the standard of masks worn by people involved in the Olympics should also be raised. In crowded environments, filter masks such as N95 should be used.
The Tokyo epidemic has intensified, and the Japanese Prime Minister said that the Olympic Games will not be suspended
On July 27, the number of newly confirmed cases in Tokyo reached a record-breaking 2,848. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated that there is no possibility of suspending the Olympic Games. At present, due to the epidemic control measures and the cooperation of the public, the flow of people in the capital has been Decrease, and the increase in confirmed cases is due to the spread of the delta mutant strain.
According to the “Wall Street Journal” report, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan estimated that as of July 19, cases of Delta mutant strains accounted for 64% of all confirmed cases in Tokyo. By the end of August, almost all confirmed cases in Tokyo and surrounding areas will be caused by this mutant strain.
On the other hand, the current proportion of Japanese people receiving the new crown vaccine is not high, and only about 25% of the population has completed the entire vaccination.
Tokyo entered a state of emergency on July 12, and the state of emergency will continue until August 22, which is two weeks after the end of the Olympic Games. But the “Washington Post” pointed out that Tokyo in a state of emergency is still crowded during the day. Although the Japanese government requires restaurants to close in advance, some neighborhoods are still bustling at night.
Yoshihide Suga said on the 27th that he is not worried that the surge in the number of new confirmed cases will affect the Olympics. At the same time, he called on local people to avoid unnecessary outings and watch the Olympics and Paralympics on TV.
Beijing News trainee reporter Xiang Chenyu
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