Athletes are allowed to remove their masks for 30 seconds while on the podium[/caption]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued another plea for all Olympic participants to follow Covid-19 rules following reports of athletes flouting the amended victory ceremony protocols, the Inside the Games reported yesterday (26).
The IOC yesterday relaxed rules to allow athletes to remove their masks for 30 seconds to take a socially-distanced picture, but said regulations which forbid them from gathering on the gold-medal platform, apart from when the photo is taken, would remain in place.
Coaches and support staff have also been found to have been in breach of the Covid-19 measures outlined in the “playbooks” that are in place at Tokyo 2020 by cheering and shouting from the stands, and by hugging each other.
IOC Presidential spokesperson Mark Adams conceded not everybody at the Games had been abiding by the rules and admitted the new regulations allowing for mask-less podium pictures would need to be reinforced.
“We cannot allow celebrations, unfortunately, but we can allow athletes the chance to remove their masks for 30 seconds and take a distanced picture,” Adams said.
“I think everyone will appreciate the risk with this is very, very low. (The new rule) is not being followed. Those guidelines were sent during the day and we are trying to make sure they are being closely followed,” he added.
127 people test positive at Olympics
New data has been released by Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers detailing Covid-19 testing and positive case numbers since July 1st.
The data reveals that 127 people connected to the games have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past few weeks, including 71 people who are residents of Japan, including contractors and other games-connected personnel, and 56 non-residents, including athletes, members of the media, and other games personnel.
Fourteen athletes have tested positive so far and almost 170,000 tests have been completed since 1 July.
The data does not name individuals who have tested positive but, it does identify which nation and sport the person comes from. Recent positive tests have been reported for a cyclist from the Czech Republic on 22 July and a rower from the Netherlands on the 23rd.