Desperate attempts: Despite strict measures, the corona numbers are rising in Japan – including in the Olympic bubble.
Photo: imago images / Sven Simon
Anyone listening to Japan’s top politicians these days might think that there are hardly any problems. Just two days after the Olympic opening ceremony last Friday, Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, appeared in front of the press: “The games are going very smoothly.” .
But a look at the Olympic venues – and the latest infection figures – quickly fades this optimism: Japan recorded 10,000 new infections on Thursday, driven by the more aggressive delta variant, the highest daily figure in this pandemic. The country now has a total of around 900,000 infections and 15,000 deaths. In several areas, the hospitals are working at the limit of their capacity. In contrast, all the Olympic venues in and around the Japanese capital are empty: only athletes, officials and journalists are allowed in. Everyone must wear a mask.
This is one of the reasons why the Tokyo Olympics, which have been running for a week, are arguably the most controversial that has ever been. Before the pandemic, the organizers had promised the people a lot: “Tokyo 2020” should bring an economic boom, celebrate the reconstruction of the areas around Fukushima, which were destroyed ten years ago in a natural and nuclear disaster, and promote diversity in the country.
But what was not a bold announcement before the Covid 19 pandemic became completely unrealistic with the pandemic. The games cost a multiple of what was once planned and, thanks to various security measures, bring in less money. Reconstruction in the northeast of the country is stalling. And due to the lack of international exchange in the context of these competitions, diversity is hardly the focus any more. Since the organizers nevertheless wanted to hold “Tokyo 2020” – against the will of the majority in the country – they have only promised one thing over the past few months: “Safety is the top priority”.
Does she really have that? The answer to this question will vary depending on who you ask. “My impression is that this is about safety and hardly anything else,” says Yash Daryanani, swimming coach for the delegation from Suriname. Daryanani is responsible for collecting the daily PCR tests from the athletes and officials from his country, monitoring their behavior and reporting everything to the organizing committee. The 39-year-old says there is no party atmosphere in the Olympic Village. On the contrary: »A few days ago two Dutch people tested positive. We live in the same building. ”Daryanani hardly went outside now.
It cannot be said that the strict rules are one hundred percent effective. In connection with the Olympic Games, the new infections on Thursday were at their highest level at 24, a total of 193 people were infected in the Olympic environment. The officials are not impressed by this. You expected something like this. They have reserved hotels for quarantine and treatment of infected Olympic athletes.
The virologist Brian McCloskey, who advises the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on health issues, said shortly before the start of the Games: “There will be infections. The important thing is that they do not spread or be carried outwards. ”But now the numbers outside the Olympic bubble are rising in parallel. Shigeru Omi, the chairman of the anti-corona task force of the Japanese government, warned on Wednesday of an imminent collapse of the health system in Tokyo. In addition to the pandemic, there is the hot and humid summer, which is increasingly leading to heat strokes.
The organizers are careful to emphasize that the infections inside and outside the Olympic bubble are independent of each other. The borders are tight. But while around 80 percent of those entering the Olympics are fully vaccinated, this is only the case for around a quarter of the Japanese population. And the parallel development of infection suggests that the two worlds are by no means completely disconnected from each other. “There are two effects,” says Haruka Sakamoto, a health systems scientist at the University of Tokyo. “One is the direct transmission from people inside the bladder to those outside. It looks like that has hardly happened so far. “
A second, indirect effect is just as critical: “The fact that the Olympic Games take place in spite of everything is a signal to people that the situation is not that bad. This invites careless behavior. «Since cases of infection are documented with a delay of a few days, this indirect effect of a negative signal effect should be reflected in numbers over the coming days and weeks. Other health experts have also warned that the Olympics are sending the wrong message.
There are several such signals from the Olympic Games. Shortly before it began, organizers stated that, contrary to the rules, athletes who had been in contact with an infected person would not need to be quarantined outside the bladder. After a negative test, they can continue to participate in competitions. In the meantime, this regulation has also been extended to athletes who tested positive, provided they have isolated themselves for at least six days and then tested negative.
The government’s argument: after all, the athletes only came for the sport. It doesn’t sound like safety is paramount. And above all, not as if one wanted to lead by example in a country that is currently experiencing a new wave of infections.
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