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Olympic Games COVID Agreement vs. Tokyo’s Blockade Fatigue | Olympic News

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The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics are Operating village For more than 80% of athletes and coaches who have received the coronavirus vaccine, testing is mandatory and exercise is strictly restricted.

None of this is true for the huge Japanese capital surrounding the Olympic “bubble”.

The Athlete’s Village and Olympic Press Center is a huge, strict COVID-19 control area that can be used by more than 50,000 athletes, coaches, staff and journalists.

Outside the fence, the host city Tokyo-despite efforts during the fourth coronavirus lockdown Peak of infection A record high-is living a normal life like a pandemic.

Participants heading to the Olympics are regularly tested for coronavirus before boarding, upon arrival and afterwards.

Organizers have conducted nearly 275,000 tests, screening athletes every day, and testing reporters in the press center before the start of the event and every four days.

During the women’s football match between Japan and Chile, a man wearing a protective mask and a Japanese flag appeared in the stands [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams (Mark Adams) said that the positive rate of games-related tests is only 0.02%.

“Almost certainly, this is the most tested community anywhere in the world.”

Athletes confirmed as positive cases were quarantined, and some people were banned from participating in the competition.American double pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks and his rival Argentina’s German player Chiara Viglio exclude After testing positive on Thursday.

Two people who participated in the competition were hospitalized due to COVID-19, although neither of these cases were serious.

24 new competition-related infections were reported, including 3 athletes, bringing the total number of infections this month to 193.

The team’s technical director, Maurits Hendriks, said that the quarantined Dutch athletes found that they were confined to a “very small” area and could not breathe fresh air, which was “very painful”.

People wearing protective masks in the athlete’s village for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan [Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters]

During the two-week quarantine period, journalists must report their temperature and condition every day and download a contact tracing application.

In the main press center of Japan’s largest exhibition facility, reporters wash their hands before lining up for security checks. In addition to facial recognition scanning and eating, you need to wear a mask at all times.

Those who violate the rules will be condemned, although occasionally unmasked reporters at ordinary desks can be seen next to their computers, and the work area is separated by plastic partitions.

Hand sanitizer is everywhere. At the press conference, officials scrub the microphones after every question.

Crowded streets of tokyo

Outside, the Tokyo-style state of emergency has little resemblance to the clinical situation in the bubble, and even the ghost town blockade imposed by cities such as London, New York, and Sydney. There are still hordes of people on the streets.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday that he has a “strong sense of urgency” about COVID-19 because Tokyo has set a new record.

He once again urged people to stay at home and watch the game on TV-almost no audience. Travel restrictions and work-from-home recommendations are still valid.

An analysis conducted by the subway government on data from the private data company Agoop showed that passenger traffic around Shinjuku Station in Tokyo dropped by 80% during the first emergency in April 2020 and May 2020 from the baseline before the pandemic. above.

Seeing passengers wearing protective masks in a subway train [Issei Kato/Reuters]

But with the emergence of lockdown fatigue, these numbers have now fallen by only 37%, and many Tokyoites say that the government’s enthusiasm for advancing the Olympics makes people feel that going out is acceptable.

COVID-19 infections in Tokyo began to surge shortly before the start of the Olympics, from less than 1,000 people a day in mid-July to a record 3,865 people on Thursday, although the number of severe cases and deaths remains low.

Only 21% of people in Tokyo have been vaccinated. In a city with a population of 14 million, the number of regulated coronavirus tests has gradually increased to 2.9 million.

During a crowded rush hour in the fashionable Shibuya district, a 19-year-old college student, Nae Onaka, said she tried to avoid going out, “but for work or part-time work, you have to go outside”.

In view of the multiple lockdowns, “everyone’s consciousness is slowly fading bit by bit. I think people are starting to stop taking emergency situations seriously, so there have been more cases of COVID-19 recently, so I’m a little worried.”

Pedestrians wearing protective masks walking in Tokyo, Japan [Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters]

Only standing space on commuter trains is the norm, although almost all passengers wear masks and avoid talking loudly, and the conductor will open some windows in each car to promote air circulation.

After get off work, although bars should close at 8pm, some people blatantly ignore the main voluntary rules of the lockdown, and Japanese convenience stores are often open all night.

One night this week, in the densely populated area of ​​Ikebukuro, young people found a place to sit outside for a makeshift gathering.

“At this point, I don’t think you can do anything to catch COVID. I don’t want to get it, but many people can’t avoid it,” said 19-year-old part-time worker Yuka Toma.

“I’m in the hotel industry, so when I do, I will definitely get it. Anyone can get it, so I’m just starting to hang out.”



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