On the same day,Victoria recorded 52,283 tests for 16 cases. NSW recorded 62,860 tests and 78 cases,a positive infection rate of 0.12 per cent.
Thousands of Olympians,officials and media arriving inTokyo have been required to complete free daily COVID tests but for members of the public outside the Olympic bubble accessing a test is an ongoing challenge.
A test at a private Japanese clinic costs 30,000 yen or $375.
“The process is somewhat difficult,” said Melanie Brock,an Australian business consultant who has lived in Japan for the past three decades.
“If your boss says ‘someone in the office today has called in with COVID symptoms,I would encourage everyone to get a test,’ I can guarantee that no one will get a 30,000 yen test. They would be looking for the cheaper options and they aren’t everywhere.”
Cheaper tests for $30 also exist but are less widely available. They have also been stymied by a limited public awareness campaign and the ongoing public stigma around COVID in Japan.
“If they get a test that says it’s positive and they have to take time off,young people are worried they will lose their job,and then not be able to pay the rent,” said Brock.
Like much of the world,Japan’s battle against the virus has been reshaped by the emergence of the Delta variant first found in India,which is estimated to be 60 per cent more infectious than the earlier Alpha variant first identified in the UK and which,in turn,was twice as infectious as the original strain found in Wuhan.
Scientists from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases estimated earlier this month that a third of all new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo were the Delta strain. They predicted that by the end of this month that figure would rise to 74 per cent and by August,the variant would account for all new cases.
The difficulty of stopping outbreaks in a high-rise athletes’ village is akin to managing the Delta variant in quarantine hotels that share recirculated,air-conditioned air between rooms.
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Australian team chef de mission Ian Chesterman said despite the South Africans staying in proximity to where the Australian camp is housed,there was no cause for panic.
“The athletes are really calm,” he said. “They have been well prepared for the fact that there is most likely going to be a COVID case within the village. We know the protocols we have put in place are designed to keep them safe.
“We are obviously alert around the village. We are not complacent around the village. We are very determined to do everything we can to keep our athletes safe and secure.″
Tokyo now faces the simultaneous challenge of attempting to keep its health response on track while dealing with a deepening public relations fallout from the Games’ declining local popularity.
Japanese titans Panasonic,Nippon,Fujitsu and NEC joined Toyota on Tuesday in announcing they would skip the opening ceremony. Toyota,one of the Games’ major sponsors,said on Monday that it would also pull its Olympics TV ads.
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