Tokyo 2020
Virus case at Paralympics hospitalised
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TOKYO • A foreign participant in the Paralympic Games in Japan has been hospitalised with non-severe symptoms of Covid-19, Kyodo News said yesterday, citing the Games' organising committee.
This is the first hospitalisation case at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which opened on Tuesday.
The committee also reported 15 more Covid-19 cases associated with the event yesterday, for a total of 184 people infected since Aug 12. The new cases included two athletes from overseas who are staying in the Paralympic Village.
However, spokesman Masanori Takaya stressed that organisers remain committed to ensuring the safety of all involved, saying: "We cannot reduce the risks to zero, but we can minimise the risks to deliver a safe and secure Games. We are responding in the most proper way to the positive cases."
Organisers also confirmed International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach left Japan on Wednesday night after attending the opening ceremony of the Paralympics a day earlier.
The German caught the goal ball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, swimming and wheelchair basketball competitions before he left.
Bach's presence was criticised by Japan's top Covid-19 adviser Shigeru Omi, saying it ran counter to "common sense" amid the pandemic and with the event implementing a closed-door policy.
But Craig Spence, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), stressed Bach was invited by the governing body for disability sports and his itinerary was approved beforehand by the Japanese government.
"It's not uncommon for the IOC president to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. It's happened on many, many previous occasions," Spence said.
On Bach's visit, Takaya added: "Necessary epidemic prevention measures were taken upon his arrival, and he responded to them appropriately."
Tokyo and other parts of Japan are under a state of emergency as the country battles an alarming rise in the number of daily infections caused by the highly contagious Delta variant.
REUTERS
