Olympians and Paralympians from six countries where the delta variant of the novel coronavirus is prevalent will be required to take virus tests daily for seven days prior to their departure for the Tokyo Games, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The new rules will take effect on Thursday, according to sources.
The government is increasing the number of predeparture tests for athletes coming from countries where infections with the highly contagious delta variant, first detected in India, are prevalent, in addition to testing upon entering Japan and after entry.
The six nations are Afghanistan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the sources said.
Currently, all athletes from overseas are required to take tests twice within 96 hours prior to departure, then again upon arrival, with daily testing thereafter.
Under the new rules, for seven days prior to departure and three days after arrival, athletes from the six nations will also be required to have no contact with anyone other than their coaches and team members with whom they entered Japan, according to the sources. Only under these conditions will they be allowed to take part in their training camp and participate in practices.
For athletes coming from Bangladesh, Egypt, Great Britain, Malaysia and Vietnam, where the delta variant has been spreading, but the infection situation is not as serious as the above six countries, the government plans to shorten the predeparture testing period to three days.
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