Olympians Diagnosed With COVID-19 Will Reportedly Quarantine in Designated Tokyo Hotel

Cailey Rizzo
·2 min read

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics are reportedly planning to reserve hotel rooms for athletes diagnosed who may contract COVID-19 while at the games this summer.

According to Japanese news agency Kyodo, athletes who test positive for COVID-19 with mild or no symptoms will stay in a hotel near the Olympic Village for their quarantine. Those with serious symptoms will be hospitalized.

Citing "officials with knowledge" of the plan, the outlet reported that the Olympics Committee is considering renting out an entire hotel building in Tokyo's Harumi waterfront district, a few miles away from the Athletes' Village. The hotel would accommodate the needs of the 15,000 athletes from around the globe, including multilingual services and a variety of food options.

Additionally, the Olympics Committee is considering investing in 30 vehicles to transport patients to the hotel that would protect drivers from the disease.

Olympic rings in Tokyo
Olympic rings in Tokyo

YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images

Ahead of the Olympics, organizers have released a "playbook" detailing its procedures for holding a safe event during the pandemic which includes regular COVID-19 testing for athletes.

The growing wave of COVID-19 in Japan has already caused several changes to the Olympic plans and shows just how adaptable organizers will need to be over the coming months. The Osaka portion of the Olympic torch relay was moved off public roads and into a private park without spectators. Last month, it was ruled that fans from abroad would not be allowed into the Olympics this year.

"We will focus on the essentials," International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach told The Associated Press in March. "That means mainly the competitions. This has to be the clear focus. In this respect we may have to set one or another priority."

The Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.