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First Athletes Positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo Olympic Village

AFP

   TOKYO - Two athletes have become the first to test positive for the
   coronavirus in the Tokyo Olympic Village, officials said on Sunday,
   just days before the pandemic-delayed Games open.

   The cases will heighten concerns over the Olympics, which are facing
   opposition in Japan over fears they will bring new cases to a country
   already battling a surge in infections.

   A daily tally of new cases revealed two athletes tested positive in the
   Village and one elsewhere. They come a day after an unidentified
   person, who was not a competitor, became the first case in the Village.

   The Olympic Village, a complex of apartments and dining areas, will
   house 6,700 athletes and officials at its peak when the 2020 Games,
   delayed last year over the pandemic, finally get under way.

   The Tokyo Olympics, which will be held largely behind closed doors to
   prevent infections, are unpopular in Japan where opinion polls have
   consistently demonstrated a lack of support.

   On Saturday, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach
   appealed for Japanese fans to get behind the Games, saying he was "very
   well aware of the skepticism" surrounding the event.