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Two athletes test positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo Olympic Village.

Tokyo, July 18 (EFE).- Two athletes have tested positive for the coronavirus in the Tokyo Olympic village, said the organizers on Sunday, five days before the Games open.

The organizers said the test reports of the two foreign athletes confirmed their infection on Saturday during their 14-day quarantine after they landed in Japan.

They did not release the identity and nationalities of the Covid-19 positive athletes due to privacy concerns.

The organizers have confirmed three infections in the village.

On Saturday, they confirmed the first Covid-19 positive case in the residential complex on the artificial island of Tokyo Bay when a non-athlete person was detected infected with the virus.

Eight other participants, including another athlete, who tested positive for the coronavirus Sunday are outside the Olympic village.

The village with 21 residential buildings, 3,600 rooms, and 18,000 beds opened to athletes on Tuesday.

Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Masa Takaya said the three patients detected in the village were from the same country and team and participated in the same sport.

They have isolated themselves in their rooms, he said.

The new cases come five days before the Olympic Games begin in the Japanese capital on July 23.

It has raised concern about the anti-covid measures for the event.

Many Japanese have expressed concern that the Games could act as a super-spreader as Tokyo sees a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Organizers maintain their stance on holding safe Games amid strict health restrictions, including the cancellation of the traditional Olympic torch relay to the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony.

The organizers have barred overseas spectators at the event and allowed only athletes, officials, and media persons for the Games delayed last year due to the pandemic.

“We never said that it was going to be a Covid-free space. What we say is that it would be a safe space,” the spokesperson said.

He said the organizers were taking “adequate” measures to detect and isolate coronavirus infections.

The new cases bring the overall tally of infections since July 1 of athletes and others officials of the Games to 55.

The figures do not include other infections detected previously during the pre-Olympic training camps in Japan.

More than 18,000 people have arrived in the country since the beginning of the month. EFE

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