Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns has revealed how she and her teammates keep COVID-safe while eating at the Olympic dining hall in Tokyo as Japan battles more than 34,000 active cases.
The 20-year-old Australian filmed a video documenting a typical lunchtime meal at the Olympic village, which she posted to TikTok on Wednesday.
The video begins with Kearns and her teammates wearing face masks as they walked into the dining hall.
"First we sanitise (our hands) and then put these gloves on before we touch anything. We go and grab one of these trays - each individual tray has been sanitised and washed," Kearns said in the clip.
She then panned across the dining hall, which looked like a food court divided by different cuisines and dishes, such as noodles, stir-fried, grilled and steamed dishes.
After collecting their food, the teammates made their way to a table, which was divided by transparent plastic screens to create individual cubicles for diners.
"It makes mealtime conversations pretty difficult because it is hard to hear through them (the cubicles),' Kearns said.
"In every little cubicle there are disinfectant wipes so we wipe down everything that we're going to touch. The screen, the sides, the chair - everything."
Kearns said the Australian women's water polo team, also known as the 'Aussie Stingers', have a "team rule that once the (face) mask is off, you only have ten minutes to eat to reduce the exposure".
"Then after we eat, we sanitise again and put a fresh mask on, pick up our scraps with the disinfectant wipe and sanitise again on the way out," she said.
Kearns and her teammates seem to be taking every precaution against COVID-19 as 75 people linked to Tokyo2020 have tested positive to the disease, including six athletes, according to the public database.
Tokyo recorded 1,832 new cases on Wednesday, which is the highest number since early January.
Meanwhile, Japan is currently grappling with a total of 34,410 active cases, according to The Japan Times.
Kearns and the Aussie Stingers are set to face off against Canada in their first-round game on Saturday.
