‘Zero’ Risk Of COVID-19 Spread At Olympics – IOC President

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said there is “zero” risk of Olympics participants infecting Japanese residents with COVID-19, as cases hit a six-month high in the host city, Tokyo.

Bach said Olympics athletes and delegations had undergone more than 8,000 coronavirus tests, resulting in three positive results.

“Risk for the other residents of Olympic village and risk for the Japanese people is zero,” Bach added.

 At the beginning of talks with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto, Bach said the three cases have been placed in isolation and their close contacts are also in quarantine.

Just over a week before the July 23 opening ceremony, Tokyo reported 1,308 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, its highest daily tally since late January.

• Read more: Tokyo Games Will Be Historic Given Challenges – IOC President

Postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Olympics have little public support in Japan amid widespread fears about a further spread of the coronavirus.

Organisers have imposed Olympics “bubbles” to prevent further transmissions of COVID-19, but medical experts are worried they might not be sufficiently tight.

Tokyo entered its fourth state of emergency earlier this week amid a rebound in COVID-19 cases that pushed Olympic organisers to ban spectators from nearly all venues.

Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.