Tokyo 2020 panic as ’12 police officers guarding Olympic Village test positive for Covid and 38 more told to isolate’

TOKYO 2020 is facing a fresh coronavirus panic after 12 police officers guarding the Olympic Village reportedly tested positive.

And a further 38 were told they must self-isolate, too.

Reuters

A group of 50 policemen from the Olympic Village are in quarantine with 12 testing positive for coronavirus[/caption]

The Games went ahead in Tokyo despite the Japanese capital being under a state of emergency due to high Covid-19 infection rates, meaning no fans are in the stands at events.

Now, as reported by the Daily Mail, there has been an outbreak among the security personnel at the Village.

The 50 policemen now in quarantine – all in their 20s – make up half of the 100-strong special deployment from the Hyogo province protecting the athletes’ accommodation.

The report adds they have been staying in cramped dormitories and sharing washing facilities which have contributed to the spread of the virus.

It is understood the remaining 50 officers from the same group continue to patrol the Village and were spotted interacting with athletes today.

One told the Mail: “It’s only the Hyogo Prefectural Police who keep having these outbreaks of the coronavirus. Maybe we are cursed.

“There were not enough toilets or bathrooms at the police dormitory and it became too crowded. That is the cause of this virus cluster.

“The coronavirus is spreading and I am scared. Morale is so low.

“Some of the officers say that the coronavirus is more frightening than working at a natural disaster.”

An urgent review into the security measures in place to prevent Covid spreading was underway on Tuesday.

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SunSport has contacted Tokyo 2020 for comment.

The news comes on a record-breaking day in Japan with more than 9,000 coronavirus cases confirmed for the first time – including 3,177 in the capital – as the Delta variant spreads rapidly.

Thankfully for Games organisers, though, none of those were Olympic athletes for the first time in four days.

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Sportsfile

Security personnel have been cramped into dormitory accommodation despite rising infection rates[/caption]