Policy Africa

  Two members of Uganda's Olympic team tested positive for the coronavirus, a few weeks before the Tokyo competition. The eight other members of the team left early Sunday by chartered bus for host town Osaka, central Japan, where COVID-19 cases are still being reported. Yasutoshi Nishimura, a minister in charge of economic policy, said on NHK TV Sunday that the government was looking into what had happened with border controls. The athletes, arriving late Saturday at Tokyo’s Narita airport, were all fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jabs and had negative PCR tests before boarding, the Asahi newspaper reported, quoting an anonymous Cabinet Secretariat official. The team member who tested positive was not identified. Critics have raised serious question about the risks of holding the Olympics amid a pandemic. But the IOC, Tokyo organizers and Japanese government insist the Games can be held safely. “Let’s all wait a minute,” opposition lawmaker Renho said on her Twitter account.