Japan May Ask Indian Olympians, Others For Daily Covid Tests: Report

Tokyo 2020: The new rule will be applied to athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and will come into effect on July 1, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, without citing sources.

Japan plans to ask Olympic athletes from India and five other countries hit hard by the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus to have daily virus tests for seven days before leaving for the Games, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday. Currently, all overseas athletes are being asked to have coronavirus tests twice during the four-day period before their departure for the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to start on July 23 after a year's delay due to the pandemic. The Japanese government aims to put the new rule, which will be applied to athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, into effect on July 1, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, without citing sources.