The danger factor of the Tokyo Olympic Games seems to be on the rise.

It is only five days before the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games, but the epidemic in Japan seems to be getting worse. On July 17, Tokyo, Japan reported 1410 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the number of confirmed cases in a single day has exceeded 1000 for four consecutive days. The average number of new cases in seven days has increased by nearly 50% compared with a week ago, and the number of new confirmed cases in Japan has reached 3886.

More worryingly, the epidemic has spread to the Olympic team. Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee confirmed on the 17th that there has been a positive case of COVID-19 virus in the Olympic Village, which is the first positive case in the Tokyo Olympic Village. Earlier, a foreign athlete who had arrived in Tokyo for the Olympic Games tested positive for COVID-19, and 45 people related to the Tokyo Olympic Games have been diagnosed since the beginning of July. In addition, there was a collective infection in a hotel where the Olympic delegation stayed, with a total of 11 confirmed cases.

More and more people are beginning to worry about whether the Tokyo Olympic Games will evolve into a "super communication event".

Tokyo outbreak again, entering a state of emergency for the fourth time

For some time to come, the pressure faced by the Japanese government may be "off the chart".

At present, the eyes of the world are focused on the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, but at the critical moment, the epidemic in Japan has made a comeback. On July 17, Tokyo, Japan reported 1410 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 1000 confirmed cases in a single day for the fourth day in a row. The average number of new cases in Tokyo in seven days has increased by nearly 50 per cent compared with a week ago. The number of new confirmed cases in Japan has reached 3886, and the number of confirmed cases has reached 24309, with a total of 15020 deaths.

The potential risk of this outbreak may be even greater, with the Tokyo metropolitan government announcing that 138 of the new confirmed cases have been confirmed with the Delta variant. So far, 1330 cases in Tokyo have been infected with the Delta variant.

Due to the worsening epidemic situation of COVID-19 in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiro Suga issued another "Declaration of Emergency" on July 8. the implementation period is from July 12 to August 22. Tokyo has entered a state of emergency for the fourth time.

Novel coronavirus infection is likely to expand, and vaccination in Japan has not yet reached the majority of the population. According to the latest statistics, as of July 14, less than 20 per cent of the population in Japan had completed COVID-19 vaccination, the lowest vaccination rate among developed countries in the world, compared with more than 50 per cent of the population in the United States and 63.6 per cent in the UK.

Under the spread of the epidemic news, many people worry that the Tokyo Olympic Games will become a "super communication event."

Experts estimate that there will be more than 1400 new confirmed cases in Tokyo in a single day during the East Olympic Games, and more than 2400 on August 11 after the end of the East Olympic Games.

In addition, Hiroshi Nishiura, a professor of epidemiology at Kyoto University, predicts that by the opening of the Olympic Games on July 23, the positive cases caused by Delta mutation novel coronavirus will account for 70% of all confirmed cases.

All of a sudden! The first novel coronavirus positive case appeared in Tokyo Olympic Village

Time is running out for the Japanese government, with less than a week to go before the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Following the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the latest opening date is July 23, 2021, and delegations from various countries have arrived in Japan one after another.

However, the "haze" of the epidemic began to spread within the Olympic Games. Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee confirmed on the 17th that there has been a COVID-19 virus positive case in the Olympic Village, which is the first positive case in the Tokyo Olympic Village.

Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, said at a news conference on the 17th that the person was negative for nucleic acid tests at the airport when he entered Japan, but was tested positive in daily screening in the Olympic village. At present, the person is being quarantined in a hotel. In order to prevent the disclosure of the patient's privacy, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee did not disclose the patient's nationality information, and it is not clear whether the person has been vaccinated.

On July 15, CCTV News reported that a group infection occurred in the hotel where the Brazilian judo delegation stayed at the Tokyo Olympic Games. 30 staff members responsible for receiving the athletes' delegation were confirmed one after another, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11 so far.

It is reported that 31 members of the Brazilian judo delegation arrived at the hotel on the 10th, but did not contact the infected persons. According to the local municipal government, the Brazilian judo delegation stayed in an exclusion zone in the hotel.

In addition, according to Japanese media such as the Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) announced on the 15th that COVID-19, a foreign athlete who had arrived in Tokyo to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games, tested positive. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said the athlete did not actually enter the Olympic village because it was "related to the privacy of the player" and did not disclose the player's nationality, age, gender and other information for the time being.

This is the first Olympian found to have tested positive for COVID-19 within the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said that in addition to the foreign athlete, one Tokyo Olympic staff member entering from a foreign country and four staff members living in Japan also tested positive for COVID-19, and the two immigrants did not arrive in Japan for more than 14 days.

According to the latest data released by the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, another 15 positive cases related to the Olympic Games were detected on July 16. Since July 1, in addition to athletes who came to Japan for pre-competition training, 45 Olympic-related personnel novel coronavirus has tested positive.

As we all know, the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan were promoted in the midst of controversy. Now the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games has entered the countdown stage, but there have been a spate of cases of COVID-19, which has undoubtedly made athletes all over the world, the Japanese government and the public more nervous.

It is reported that the total number of Chinese sports delegation in the Tokyo Olympic Games is 777, which is the largest overseas Olympic Games, and the vaccination rate of delegation members reaches 99.61%. On July 17, the second group of members of the Chinese sports delegation arrived at Narita Airport in Japan, including the Chinese table tennis team, women's football team, archery and rowing teams. In the face of the epidemic in Japan, many netizens expressed concern: athletes participating in the competition must take protective measures and look forward to the safe and healthy return of all.

In the haze of the epidemic, this Olympic Games may be the most special in history. According to the "Tokyo Olympic Games Special rules" published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), if the contestants or teams are unable to compete because of positive results, they will be regarded as "abstaining" and retain the previous results, and if the contestants or groups entering the finals "abstain", they will receive a silver medal.

In addition, at the Olympic award ceremony, medalists and award attendees will be required to wear masks. The winning athletes will pick up the medals from the trays and wear them around their necks, instead of shaking hands, hugging and other congratulatory methods.

How much will Japan lose in the Olympic Games without spectators?

According to the results of a public opinion survey in Japan, 83% of the respondents were worried that hosting the Olympic Games might lead to a further expansion of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Although the epidemic is still raging and the Japanese people are worried, judging from the current situation, there is a good chance that the Tokyo Olympic Games will open as scheduled, considering the epidemic. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee plans to decide that the number of participants for the opening ceremony will be greatly reduced from the originally planned 10, 000 to less than 1000, leaving only IOC personnel and dignitaries present.

In addition, judging from the latest statements of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Organizing Committee, spectators will be banned from watching the games in most venues of this Olympic Games, and there are only three venues left to allow spectators to enter.

This Olympic Games is perhaps the most difficult one. Due to the severe epidemic situation in the world, the Olympic Games is undoubtedly a major test for the Japanese government, and the on-site personnel control, medical facilities and social personnel gathering will all face tremendous pressure.

Hiroshi Oshitani, a top virologist and professor at Tohoku University in Japan, warned that hosting a risk-free Olympic Games was 100 per cent impossible and that the risk of the virus spreading in Japan and other countries would greatly increase after the Games.

At the same time, it is probably the most expensive Olympic Games in history. According to data released by the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, the total cost of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has increased from 1.35 trillion yen to 1.64 trillion yen (about 95.5 billion yuan) due to the postponement of the COVID-19 pandemic by one year. Among them, the organizing committee will bear 721 billion yen, the Tokyo metropolitan government will bear 702 billion yen, and the remaining 221 billion yen will be borne by the Japanese central government.

In the face of such a huge investment, Japan is not only difficult to make a profit, but may face the dilemma of losing money. In March this year, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee announced that overseas spectators would not be allowed to enter Japan to watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Nomura Comprehensive Research Institute (NRI) said the decision will deal a heavy blow to Japan's hotel, catering and transportation industries and is expected to cause $1.38 billion in economic losses.

In addition, the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee held five-party consultations on the evening of July 8 to formally decide that all competitions in Tokyo will be held in an empty venue. All venues in Tokyo will be refunded, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said. The Olympic Games sold 3.63 million tickets to the general public, with an estimated total of 90 billion yen.