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 Games officials on Sunday reported the first coronavirus case among
competitors in the village in Tokyo where 11,000 athletes are
expected to stay. There have been 67 cases detected among those
accredited for the Games since July 1, organisers said on Tuesday.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week
that testing and quarantine protocols would leave "zero" risk of
Games participants infecting residents in Japan.
Kenji Shibuya, the former director of the Institute for Population
Health at King's College London, said such declarations only served
to confuse and anger people as actual conditions on the ground were
"totally opposite".
"It's obvious that the bubble system is kind of broken," said
Shibuya, who in April co-authored a British Medical Journal
commentary that said the Olympics must be "reconsidered" due to
Japan's inability to contain coronavirus cases.
"My biggest concern is, of course, there will be a cluster of
infections in the village or some of the accommodation and
interaction with local people."
Insufficient testing at the bubble's border and the impossibility of
controlling people's movements mean that the Games could exacerbate
the spread of the infectious Delta variant of the virus, he said.
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 Continual reports of cases that
went undetected at the airport, along videos
showing interaction between athletes, staff and
journalists, add to concerns that airborne
transmission will occur within the village and
venues, he added. New COVID-19
cases in Tokyo reached 1,410 on Saturday, a near six month high,
while the Games are due to start in just three days.
Public health experts have warned that seasonal factors, increased
mobility, and the spread of the Delta variant could lead to a surge
past 2,000 cases per day in Tokyo by next month, levels that could
drive the city's medical system to breaking point.
Just 33% of people in Japan have received at least one COVID-19
vaccine dose, among the lowest rate among wealthy countries,
according to a Reuters tracker. The vaccination push has gained
steam since last month, but recently ebbed due to supply and
logistical snags.
By contrast, Soma City in the northern prefecture of Fukushima,
where Shibuya headed its vaccination efforts, recently completed the
bulk of its inoculations, far ahead of most of Japan.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Michael Perry and John
Stonestreet)
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