Olympic Volunteers Not Properly Tested For Virus
NHK has learned that a number of people working as volunteers for the Tokyo Olympic Games are not being properly tested for the coronavirus as required by the organizers.
The rules for preventing infections are set out in playbooks for athletes, officials, and others involved in the Games.
Under the rules, volunteers are required to undergo PCR testing at certain intervals, such as every day, or every four days, depending on how often their job brings them into close contact with athletes and officials.
But a number of volunteers told NHK that they had been involved in close-contact jobs without being properly tested.
Some of them said they had missed tests because there were not enough PCR testing kits. Others said that if they missed tests, people supervising the testing did not point out the omissions.
One of the volunteers told NHK that he has not been tested at all since he started working as a driver for foreign Olympic officials in mid-July, because no one from the Organizing Committee ever instructed him to get tested. He said it was only this Tuesday that he received an email reminding him he should be tested at work.
The Organizing Committee told NHK that it has repeatedly notified volunteers of the testing requirements, and it will continue to ensure that they get tested properly.
Since July 1, a total of 15 Olympic volunteers have tested positive for the coronavirus.