Serbian athlete tests positive on arrival in Japan for Olympics

The report comes after two members of the Ugandan Olympic delegation tested positive for the coronavirus last month upon arrival in Japan. One tested positive at Narita airport near Tokyo, but the remainder of the team was allowed to travel to a training site.

A member of the Serbian Olympic rowing team has tested positive for COVID-19 while trying to enter Japan for the Tokyo Olympics that are to open in just under three weeks.

The news was reported Sunday by Japanese agency Kyodo and cited Japanese health ministry officials.

Officials said the athlete was isolated at Tokyo's Haneda airport. Four others travelling along were reportedly transferred to a facility near the airport. They had been scheduled to travel to a training camp in Nanto in central Japan. Nanto officials said the training camp was likely to be cancelled.

The report comes after two members of the Ugandan Olympic delegation tested positive for the coronavirus last month upon arrival in Japan. One tested positive at Narita airport near Tokyo, but the remainder of the team was allowed to travel to a training site.

A second member of the delegation was found later to have the virus.

Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the organising committee, said on Friday that more than 500 participants had arrived in Tokyo without incident. About 11,000 Olympic and 4.400 Paralympic athletes will arrive for the Olympics.

Organisers still have not decided about allowing local fans into venues. Fans from abroad were banned months ago.

Dr. Shigeru Omi, a top government medical adviser, has said repeatedly that no fans is the safest option. He has also questioned why the Olympics are being held at all in the middle of a pandemic. He has termed it "abnormal."

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee's (IOC) President Thomas Bach is set to arrive in Japan on Thursday, July 8, with just over two weeks to go until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Upon his arrival, the IOC President will work remotely. His official programme of in-person and remote meetings with arriving delegations, Games stakeholders and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will then commence on July 12.

His destinations are registered, and his activities will be conducted under the strict rules defined by the Playbooks.

A visit to Hiroshima on July 16 to mark the start of the Olympic Truce is currently being arranged for President Bach. For John Coates, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, a visit to Nagasaki is being planned on this day.

The IOC Executive Board meeting will then take place in Tokyo on July 17 and 18, followed by the 138th IOC Session on July 20.

Tokyo Olympics are slated to go ahead from July 23 to August 8. The Games were scheduled for last year, but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.