- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games had a Covid scare on Wednesday (21) after Chilean taekwondo player Fernanda Aguirre and Dutch skateboarder Candy Jacobs were ruled out after testing positive.
While Aguirre tested positive in an on-arrival test at the airport in the Japanese capital, Jacobs’ result was revealed at the Games village, making her the sixth resident of the facility to contract the virus.
ALSO READ: Uganda has more officials than athletes in Tokyo Olympic squad, outrage
Abhinav Bindra has high hopes of shooting gold at Tokyo
“Fernanda Aguirre has tested positive for Covid-19 in the tests carried out on her arrival in Japan,” Chile’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) said in a statement. Aguirre, 21, travelled to Japan from Uzbekistan with a negative Covid report but tested positive in both the antigen and polymerase chain reaction tests conducted at the Tokyo airport. She was quarantined in a designated facility soon afterwards.
“The athlete is asymptomatic and in good health, but unfortunately she will not be able to compete in this event because the Japanese health authorities impose a quarantine of at least 10 days,” the Chile NOC stated.
Aguirre’s coach Jose Zapata was also quarantined despite testing negative since he was deemed a close contact. Aguirre was one of the eight Covid-19 cases among Games-related personnel revealed by the organising committee on Wednesday.
Jacobs, 31, on the other hand, posted a message on her instagram page to say that her Olympic dream was over. “I am heartbroken. Unfortunately I tested positive for COVID-19 this morning, which means my Olympic journey ends here…have done everything in my power to prevent this scenario and took all the precautions,” she posted.
Before Aguirre and Jacobs, five athletes, three of whom were residing at the Games village, were found to be infected by the virus but none on arrival at the airport. The total number of Games-related Covid cases have gone up to 75 now.
The Tokyo Games will open on Friday (23) and will continue till August 8. It will be held behind closed doors.
