Members of the Ugandan Olympics team pose for a group photo as they arrive at a hotel in Izumisano, Japan, June 20, 2021. /CFP
A member of the Ugandan Olympic team who tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival in Japan had the Delta variant, Japan's Olympics minister said on Friday.
A coach in the African nation's delegation tested positive after arriving in Japan on June 19, while a second member, an athlete, tested positive on June 23 after arriving in the team's host city of Izumisano, officials said previously.
Japan's Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa told a news conference that the person who arrived on June 19 had been found to have the highly infectious Delta variant and that an analysis was also being conducted on the second confirmed case, NHK public TV reported.
Marukawa said she would consult other ministries and liaise with those on the ground about what steps were needed, NHK said.
The handling of the case has sparked criticism from local officials and experts, and fueled concerns about what lies ahead.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Torch Relay event in Numazu, Japan, June 24, 2021. /CFP
Although one member tested positive for the virus at the airport, the rest traveled to the host town in a bus, accompanied by three city officials, an Izumisano official said. Those people were only designated "close contacts" days later.
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters that Olympics delegations should be held at or near the airport if a member tested positive upon arrival. Izumisano city is in Osaka prefecture.
"It would be tough to apply this to the general public but with athletes' groups it's clear they are close contacts," he said. "I think we should learn from this case as we head into the Games in earnest."
The case "clearly shows a lack of basic risk mitigation measures based on best available evidence," said Kenji Shibuya, former director of the Institute of Population Health at King's College London.
People wait in an observation area after their COVID-19 vaccination at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Tokyo, Japan, June 25, 2021. /CFP
Japan has not suffered the type of explosive outbreak of the virus seen elsewhere in the world but has only recently emerged from a fourth wave of infections.
A decline in the pace of new cases and a pick-up in the vaccination rollout prompted authorities to ease a state of emergency in Tokyo and eight other prefectures on June 20.
But experts are worried about a renewed rise in cases in Tokyo as well as about the spread of more highly transmissible variants. Tokyo recorded 570 new COVID-19 cases on June 24, up from 452 the same day a week earlier.