12 Members Of The Greek Artistic Swimming Team Isolated After Joining A COVID-19 Cluster

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JAKARTA - All 12 members of the Greek artistic swimming team are in isolation after five of them were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This is the first cluster detected at the Tokyo Olympics.

The team has been withdrawn from the remaining competitions and the seven members who have so far tested negative have agreed to be transferred to the facility for "close contact" with positive cases, Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said.

So far, none of those who have tested positive need hospital treatment, Takaya added.

The team did not participate in Tuesday's duet competition and have now withdrawn from the team competition, which started this weekend.

"It hurts us to imagine the feelings of the athletes who have done so much to prepare for the Olympics and come all the way to Tokyo in this difficult situation," Takaya said.

"We pray for their speedy recovery," said Takaya, adding that this was the first "cluster" found at the Olympics.

So far, Tokyo 2020 has reported 322 positive cases of the virus among “Stakeholders” including athletes, officials and media. Most of the positive cases occurred among Japanese residents who worked as employees or contractors.

Postponed for a year due to the virus, the Olympics are being held under strict anti-infection rules. Tokyo itself is under a virus emergency and has recorded a record number of infections in recent days.