Covid headache grows at Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo Olympics is not scheduled to start until Friday but the signs are already ominous. The greatest test for the organisers and the International Olympic Committee might not be organising the sports but delivering an Olympics without disruption due to Covid cases. Just a few days ago, IOC president Thomas Bach had said it was a ‘zero-risk’ Games but the early indications belie such optimism. The IOC had been advocating that the Games would be safe and not pose a threat to the Japanese public.
Yet, positive cases have reached the holiest of all places—the Games Village—where 11,000 athletes are expected to reside. It started with a resident followed by three South African athletes (two in the Village) on Sunday; and now a Czech beach volleyball player too has tested positive. The latest positive case poses a unique problem for the organisers. The player was supposed to partner his teammate in a match on July 26. However, isolation protocols would not allow him to do that. This has led to pressure on the organisers to tweak the schedule and isolation rules. This seems to be just the beginning. According to reports, 55 people linked to the Olympics have tested positive since July 1.
The organisers and IOC are working overtime to see how athletes who tested positive can return to the arena. Publishing a ‘playbook’ is one thing, the reality is another. There will be occasions when some rules would be tweaked. Unlike the Euro or Copa America, the scale of the Olympics in terms of athletes and manpower is humungous. Also unlike in football tournaments, here an athlete may not get a second chance to compete. The IOC’s challenge just got harder. Already Tokyo, in a state of emergency, has rising Covid cases. Positive cases in the Games Village means their headache has just become a migraine.
Another setback was the announcement of Toyota, the Games’ principal sponsor, that it would not be part of the Opening Ceremony. The company will also not run any adverts on television during the Olympics keeping in mind public sentiment. The Games are yet to begin but the rumblings have started. The stellar achievements of athletes at the grandest celebration of sports will no longer remain the only focus during the July 23-August 8 Olympics. All eyes are expected to be on the medals tally no doubt, but the Covid tracker will also be keenly followed.