Coco Gauff tests positive for the virus, another blow for the Tokyo Olympics. – The New York Times

In a statement on Sunday, the South African Football Association confirmed that three people associated with the mens Olympic soccer team had tested positive: one official and two players, Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi. It was unclear whether those were the cases reported by Olympic officials, who did not disclose any names or nationalities.

In addition, the British Olympics Association confirmed on Sunday that six British track and field athletes and two staff members are in quarantine at the teams preparation camp after being identified as close contacts of an individual who tested positive on their flight to Japan. The group all tested negative at the airport and have continued to test negative upon arrival into the country, the association said.

Summer Olympics Essentials

Olympic officials defended their safety protocols on Sunday, saying a strict testing regimen minimized the risk of outbreaks. At a news conference, Pierre Ducrey, operations director for the Olympic Games, said that since July 1, more than 18,000 participants had arrived in Japan from overseas and more than 30,000 tests had been conducted.

This is probably the most controlled population at this point in time anywhere in the world, he said.

Tokyo is now under its fourth state of emergency since the pandemic began, with this one set to last until after the Games end on Aug. 8. The city is seeing its highest case numbers in months, reporting more than 1,000 new cases for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday.

New precautionary measures continue to be announced in the days leading up to the Games. They include changes to the medal ceremony, announced last week, that require athletes to place their gold, silver or bronze medals around their own necks rather than accept them from presenters.

The podium will also be larger this year to ensure social distancing among medalists. Olympic officials had previously announced that masks would be mandatory for both medalists and presenters.

Some athletes have decided to stay away from the Games. They include two Australians: the tennis player Nick Kyrgios, who cited misgivings about the lack of spectators, and the basketball player Liz Cambage, who said she worried about the effect that being confined to the Olympic bubble would have on her mental health.

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Coco Gauff tests positive for the virus, another blow for the Tokyo Olympics. - The New York Times