All eyes on the Olympics
Today the much awaited Olympics begin! More than 11,000 athletes from 205 national Olympic committees are scheduled to compete in the Games. There will be no one in the stands and athletes will be required to fetch their medal off a tray and drape if around their own neck. We know that some athletes, like American swimmer Michael Andrew, are not vaccinated, but officials estimate that 80% of athletes are.
As the world closely follows all the incredible athletes, epidemiologists will be closely watching two things…
Background Rates
Like the rest of the world, Japan and its Asian neighbors are experiencing new Delta surges. Today, Japan is experiencing 30 cases per 1 million, which was about their rate in April and in December. While this isn’t the explosion of cases Western countries are (sadly) accustomed to, it’s nonetheless a concerning landscape given people from around the world are going to congregate in one place. And only 23% of Japan is fully vaccinated. Given high transmission and low vaccination rates, Japan declared another state of emergency on July 8, which is still active today.
Transmission Rates
We are also watching the rate of transmission within the Olympics. And outbreaks are well on their way. Thanks to this super handy tally of ongoing infections at the Olympics and a number of media sources, this is what’s happened so far:
June 29: First case identified (Japanese contractor)
July 3: First media case
July 14: First athlete case
July 16: Member of the Nigerian delegation became the first to be hospitalized with COVID-19
July 17: Case count now up to 45
July 19: USA basketball player, Katie Lou Samuelson, positive
July 20: USA gymnastics athlete, Kara Eaker, positive
July 22: USA volleyball player, Taylor Crabb, who was vaccinated tested positive
July 23 (today): Case count now up to 91 people, including 10 athletes
We’ll see how this unfolds. On one hand, this may just be a high initial rate of cases reflective of arrivals. With high rates of transmission across the world and/or risks with travel, maybe the majority of people are just coming positive. If the Olympics successfully implement the 70-page playbook of public health mitigation measures, this could be contained. But as Tokyo Olympics chief Toshiro Muto said, if transmission continues cancelling the Games is still on the table.
In the meantime, enjoy watching from your couch. Go team USA!
Love, YLE