Athletes and others who come to Japan for the Tokyo Games must continue to have their health monitored for 14 days after leaving Japan and promptly report any COVID-19 symptoms, according to the third edition of the Games Playbook, a set of guidelines on coronavirus measures for athletes and others, which was made public Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee and other organizations.
The Playbook also contains clauses clarifying the punishments for failing to comply with behavioral restrictions to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus.
Athletes are required to take their temperature and adhere to other health-monitoring measures for 14 days prior to departure from their home country. They are also required to take virus tests twice within 96 hours prior to departure, and then daily after arriving in Japan.
The third edition states that athletes and others also need to monitor their health after returning to their home countries.
If an athlete develops symptoms within 14 days of leaving Japan, it is likely that he or she was infected in Japan. Therefore, close contacts should be identified and examined promptly to prevent the formation of clusters in places such as the athlete's village.
In addition to issuing warnings to athletes who do not abide by the rules, it was also decided in the third edition to impose punishments such as withdrawal of accreditation required for participation in the Games, exclusion from the Games and fines.
The first edition, which was the first ever Playbook created for the Games, was released in February. A revised second edition came out in April. The latest edition was originally positioned as the "final" edition. But it ended up being labeled as the "third" edition because it may be revised again depending on how the infection situation develops.
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