Photos: 2020 Olympic Games set to begin amid rising Covid-19 cases in Tokyo
As Covid-19 cases rise in Tokyo, which is under a fourth state of emergency, public concern has grown that hosting an event with thousands of overseas athletes, officials and journalists could accelerate infection rates in Japan's capital and introduce variants that are more infectious or deadlier. According to a Reuters report, Tokyo 2020 organisers have reported 58 positive cases among athletes, officials and journalists since July 2. Tokyo is set to house around 11,000 athletes and thousand more team officials at the peak of the Games. Tokyo reported 1,008 new COVID-19 cases on July 18, the fifth straight day with more than 1,000 cases.
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Members of Australia's men's rowing team train at the Sea Forest Waterway ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 18. While the opening ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is slated for July 23, a recent survey published by the Asahi newspaper says that two-thirds of people in Japan do not believe the country can host a safe and secure Olympics amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections, Reuters reported.(Behrouz Mehri / AFP)
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Members of the Netherlands delegation wait for Covid testing upon their arrival from Amsterdam at Narita International Airport, Chiba Prefecture on July 18. Czech beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic tested positive for Covid-19 in the Olympic Village on July 18. Since July 2, Tokyo 2020 organizers have reported 58 positive cases among athletes, officials and journalists, Reuters reported.(David Gannon / AFP)
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Protesters against the Tokyo Olympics gather outside Akasaka Palace, a Japanese state guest house where the welcome party for IOC President Thomas Bach and its officials are held in Tokyo on July 18, 2021. The yellow banner reads that IOC is a plunderer.(Koji Harada / Kyodo News via AP)
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South Korean Flags and signs hang on the apartment building hosting Olympics participants, at the Athletes Village, where a person has tested positive for Covid-19, in Tokyo on July 17. The Olympic Village, a complex of apartments and dining areas in Tokyo, will house 6,700 athletes and officials at its peak when the delayed 2020 Games finally get underway, AFP reported.(Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS)
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