21 members of S. African men's soccer team identified as close contacts
Twenty-one members of the South African men's soccer team staying at the Olympic Village in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, were identified as having been in close contact with the delegation's two athletes and staffer who tested positive for COVID-19, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games said Monday.
The majority of those identified as having been in close contact with the infected are soccer players, according to Games sources.
The team trained on Monday evening in Chiba City to prepare for its first-round match against Japan on Thursday and about 20 players practiced passing drills after arriving on two buses.
Athletes identified as close contacts are allowed to participate in training on the condition that they stay and eat in their private rooms, and travel in private vehicles.
They are also allowed to compete if they provide a negative PCR test six hours prior to the start of their event. According to the Japan Football Association, however, FIFA requires each team to name 13 players 1-1/2 hours before the start of a match.
--Czech athlete tests positive in Village
A 26-year-old Czech male athlete participating in beach volleyball at the Games tested positive for COVID-19 at the Olympic Village, the Czech Olympic committee said Monday.
The athlete was the third Olympian to test positive while staying in the Olympic Village, following the two South African men's soccer players.
--U.S. gymnast tests positive at camp
An American teenage female gymnast tested positive for COVID-19 during a pre-Olympic training camp in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, the city government said Monday.
The gymnast is asymptomatic and the city is coordinating transportation of the athlete to a recuperation facility in the prefecture.
Since her arrival on Thursday, the athlete has only traveled between the practice site and a hotel in Narita in the prefecture, according to the city.
The team consists of 28 people, including 10 gymnasts. One of the gymnasts, who was identified as having been in close contact with the infected gymnast, is staying at a hotel in Narita.
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