OREANDA-NEWS. The Olympic Games in the capital of Japan have not yet officially opened, and the list of their participants includes the first one suspended from the competition due to a diagnosis of COVID-19. This is the representative of the Chilean national team Fernanda Aguirre, performing in taekwondo.

Kyodo channel emphasizes that this is the first time that an athlete has been suspended from participation in the Games due to infection with the coronavirus.

According to the agency, the Chilean athlete was one of eight infected with coronavirus, which the organizers of the Games identified on July 20.

At the same time, representatives of the Chilean Olympic Committee said that Aguirre feels fine, but according to the rules for the 2020 Games, she will not be able to compete in Tokyo, as she will have to be quarantined. This is the first time an athlete has been suspended in Japan due to the coronavirus. Taekwondo Masters will begin their tournament on July 24th.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday that it would be impossible to reduce the risk of coronavirus to zero at the Tokyo Olympics. The indicator of success, he called the fact that any cases of infection must be identified, isolated and properly monitored so that further spread of the infection is interrupted.

The organizing committee of the Games has already reported 79 cases of infection since the beginning of this month among people associated with the Olympics.

The Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23rd. The games were postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic.

In Japan, where about 34% of the population received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, many were concerned that the Olympics could spread the disease. In a recent poll by Asahi newspaper, 68% of respondents expressed doubts about the ability of the Games organizers to control the coronavirus, when 55% said they were against the Olympics.