As per the covid-19 positive list uploaded on July 21 on the Olympics.com website, 79 people associated with the games have so far tested positive, some of them undergoing quarantine, sending signals of caution ahead of the opening of Tokyo Olympics.
The list includes all cases reported from July 1 to July 21 and mentions both Japanese residents and foreigners who are in the country for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The case list, categorized on the basis of resident or non-resident and the area of work involved, highlights employees, contractors, games-concerned personnel, volunteers, media, and athletes.
On July 21, Wednesday, eight people were announced positive including one athlete, one games-concerned personnel and six contractors. On July 17th, the number of positive cases announced stood at 15; the highest so far in a day. In total, the list has confirmed that 46 residents of Japan and 33 non-residents have tested and reported positive; all of them associated with the Olympic games starting July 23.
So far, six athletes (all non-residents of Japan), five media personnel (one Japanese, rest foreigners), 18 games-related personnel and 42 contractors have been infected with Covid-19. Games-related personnel includes those affiliated with the IOC, the IPC, NOCs, NPCs, international federations, members of the Olympic and Paralympic Family, Partners, OBS members, etc.
The list also mentions efforts made to do contact tracing and confirms that some of the infected may have come in close contact with 12-18 people more.
On July 20, Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Toshiro Muto admitted the possibility of cancelling the games if cases continue to rise during a news conference.
"We will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases," said Muto adding, "We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises."
More than 11,000 athletes are expected to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
