Tokyo Olympics to be held without fans after new COVID-19 state of emergency declared

[Solauren]

Daily tests and they only catch a case 5 days out from the games. That sounds a lot like someone getting infected after arriving in Japan, while in quarantine.

My exception of an outbreak during the games has gone up.

You're more optimistic then me. I was figuring on at least a partial outbreak causing some events to be cancelled or have contested results.

[LadyTevar]

I don't see this rowing course lasting long after the games end. Probably the first one they realize isn't a long term investment.

On the other hand, if these little oysters that sell for $$$$ like to colonize the piers, KEEP THE PIERS and HARVEST THE OYSTERS.

[Solauren]

I don't see this rowing course lasting long after the games end. Probably the first one they realize isn't a long term investment.

On the other hand, if these little oysters that sell for $$$$ like to colonize the piers, KEEP THE PIERS and HARVEST THE OYSTERS.

I can see that happening, and resulting in 'Olympic brand oysters', selling at 50% more then the regular variety of these oysters.

[bilateralrope]

Olympic COVID bubble already “broken” with 71 cases, 3 in athlete village

The tally includes cases among athletes, Olympic staff, and accredited contractors.
BETH MOLE - 7/21/2021, 5:55 AM[/i]

The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Tokyo Olympics has risen to 71, with at least three cases confirmed within the Olympic Village that is housing athletes, according to reports out of Japan.

At least one public health expert says the rising case count indicates that the protective COVID bubble designed around the games has already burst days before the international sporting event even starts.

Olympics organizers said Tuesday that the tally hit 71, including 31 international travelers who had arrived in Tokyo to compete or work at the games, the Associated Press reports. The count also includes Olympic-accredited contractors and volunteers in Japan who have tested positive for the pandemic coronavirus.

At least three cases have popped up within the Olympic Village among the South African soccer team, including two players and one official. Twenty-one people linked to those cases are now quarantining, according to The New York Times.

Additionally, US Olympic officials confirmed Monday that Missourian Kara Eaker, an alternate on the women’s gymnastics team, became infected despite being vaccinated. She tested positive while training in Chiba prefecture outside Tokyo and has gone into a 10- to 14-day quarantine. She is said to be feeling fine. Another US gymnastics alternate, Leanne Wong, is also under quarantine due to close contact.

Bursting bubble
The Times noted that there have been reports that Czech Republic volleyball player Ondřej Perušič also tested positive in the Olympic Village. Additionally, eight travelers from Britain are quarantining—including six athletes and two Olympics staff members—after a person on their flight into Tokyo tested positive at the airport.

"It's obvious that the bubble system is kind of broken," Kenji Shibuya, the former director of the Institute for Population Health at King's College London, told Reuters Tuesday. "My biggest concern is, of course, there will be a cluster of infections in the village or some of the accommodation and interaction with local people."

Shibuya expressed concern for limited testing among people on the fringes of the Olympic bubble as well as difficulty controlling individual people's movements and interactions. For example, a Ugandan weightlifter already went missing from his training camp in Osaka prefecture and turned up days later in a town 100 miles away. Officials realized he was missing when he didn't show up for his daily coronavirus test.

Though the cases identified so far are among tens of thousands of people working on the games, the presence of the hyper-transmissible delta coronavirus variant and the continued mixing of people risk fueling outbreaks that could mushroom out of the city. It's a concern that has been raised repeatedly by health experts in Japan. The situation has also raised questions about whether the Olympic organizers have put profits from the games above the health and safety of residents and athletes.

Tokyo is currently under a state of emergency due to COVID-19 cases, which continue to climb upward. On Saturday alone, Tokyo logged 1,400 new cases. The area hasn't seen a daily count that high since its largest COVID-19 surge in January, which peaked with around 2,500 daily new cases. Only about 22 percent of Japan's population is fully vaccinated. Health officials have already banned both domestic and foreign fans from attending the games.

Only a few days before the plague games open.

[Broomstick]

Latest news I heard this morning was that the Opening Ceremony Director was fired after joking about the Holocaust. I have not found details and not sure I care to hear them at this point.

And the composer for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies has "stepped down" after admitting to making fun of people with disabilities.

The news also muttered about possible last-minute shut down if the covid outbreak in the Olympic Village gets larger.

Really, this round of Olympics is shaping up to be an all-around clusterfuck.

[bilateralrope]

I've found details:

Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony director fired for Holocaust joke

Kentaro Kobayashi was fired “after a joke he had made in the past about a painful historical event was brought to light,” the organizing committee said in a statement on the eve of the Games.

July 22, 2021, 8:26 PM NZST / Updated July 22, 2021, 9:02 PM NZST
By Corky Siemaszko
TOKYO — The director of the Tokyo Olympics’ opening ceremony was fired Thursday over a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998.

Kentaro Kobayashi was ousted just a day before the pandemic-delayed Games were set to officially kickoff Friday with an elaborate ceremony he helped create, the latest in a long list of setbacks to hit the event.

Kobayashi was fired “after a joke he had made in the past about a painful historical event was brought to light,” the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said in a statement.

Kobayashi used the phrase “Let’s play Holocaust” in the act, organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said in a statement.

“We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, had used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,” Hashimoto said.

“We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country.”

Kobayashi said Thursday he regretted the incident.

"Entertainment should not make people feel uncomfortable. I understand that my stupid choice of words at that time was wrong, and I regret it," he said in a statement.

Kobayashi, 48, is a former member of a comedy duo called "Rahmens" and his unearthed attempt at Holocaust humor drew immediate condemnation from Jewish groups like the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles after it surfaced on Twitter.

Kobayashi is shown cutting up paper figures of human beings while talking about coming up with a “let’s massacre Jewish people game” in the skit.

It was not immediately clear who first posted the video footage online.

"Any person, no matter how creative, does not have the right to mock the victims of the Nazi genocide," said the group’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who said the Nazis also sent disabled Germans to the gas chambers.

"Any association of this person to the Tokyo Olympics would insult the memory of 6 million Jews and make a cruel mockery of the Paralympics," he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has faced criticism for the decision to hold the Games in the midst of the pandemic, told reporters Thursday that "this incident is utterly outrageous and completely unacceptable.”

Kobayashi helped craft an opening ceremony at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium that will get underway at 7 a.m. ET Friday with no fans in the stands due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and the current state of emergency in Tokyo.

While the stadium can seat 68,000 people, there will be less than a thousand officials on hand to cheer on the athletes from more than 200 countries. Dignitaries will include First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who is leading the American delegation, and Japanese Emperor Naruhito.

The ouster of Kobayashi came just days after another key member of the creative group that put together the opening ceremony, musician Keigo “Cornelius” Oyamada, was fired after boasts that he bullied disabled classmates surfaced online.

Oyamada apologized and both he and his music were removed from the program.

The Olympics have been beset by several other scandals over the past year, too.

In February, the president of the committee, Yoshiro Mori, was forced out after he said female sports officials talk too much during meetings. A month later, the Games' original creative director, Hiroshi Sasaki, was ousted for comparing Japanese celebrity Naomi Watanabe to a pig.

The pandemic derailed the Olympics last year and in the run-up to Friday's official kickoff the Tokyo 2020 organizers have had to contend with a troubling increase in new Covid-19 cases and opposition from the Japanese public, a majority of whom fear the influx of athletes and others from abroad could turn the Games into a superspreader event.

Even before Kobayashi's departure was announced Friday, the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun blasted the committee, writing that is has been "dogged by a series of missteps."

"The "Festival of Peace" is going to open amid this pathetic mess nobody even imagined possible," the newspaper wrote, referring to one of the themes of the opening ceremony.

Olympics officials acknowledged the troubles but said they remained determined to press ahead.

“We are going to have the opening ceremony tomorrow and, yes, I am sure there are a lot of people who are not feeling easy about the opening of the Games,” Hashimoto said.

“But we are going to open the Games tomorrow under this difficult situation.”

Interesting that, for all their apologies, they refer to the holocaust as a "painful historical event" and "historical tragedy". Without being specific about which event they are talking about. The vagueness makes it hard for me to believe they are sorry.

Then there is the obvious question of: Why didn't they get rid of him sooner ?
Was it a lack of due diligence, them not caring until it went public, or was he one of the rare people who made a joke like that without making many similar jokes in other performances ?

[Ralin]

Interesting that, for all their apologies, they refer to the holocaust as a "painful historical event" and "historical tragedy". Without being specific about which event they are talking about. The vagueness makes it hard for me to believe they are sorry.

Bear in mind that you're reading a translation and that they're talking about something that isn't a part of their history in the same way it is for Americans or Europeans. I personally wouldn't read much into it.

[Bedlam]

Then there is the obvious question of: Why didn't they get rid of him sooner ?
Was it a lack of due diligence, them not caring until it went public, or was he one of the rare people who made a joke like that without making many similar jokes in other performances ?

Well what level of diligence is needed? It appears to be one joke 13 years ago, should every word you have ever said be reviewed before starting a job?
Given how much is now recorded there is of course the issue that if you do now then the public at large might.

[bilateralrope]

Then there is the obvious question of: Why didn't they get rid of him sooner ?
Was it a lack of due diligence, them not caring until it went public, or was he one of the rare people who made a joke like that without making many similar jokes in other performances ?

Well what level of diligence is needed? It appears to be one joke 13 years ago, should every word you have ever said be reviewed before starting a job?
Given how much is now recorded there is of course the issue that if you do now then the public at large might.

It's one joke that we know about. I just find it hard to believe that he'd make that joke without having also made other jokes that are nearly as uncomfortable.

[Formless]

Interesting that, for all their apologies, they refer to the holocaust as a "painful historical event" and "historical tragedy". Without being specific about which event they are talking about. The vagueness makes it hard for me to believe they are sorry.

Bear in mind that you're reading a translation and that they're talking about something that isn't a part of their history in the same way it is for Americans or Europeans. I personally wouldn't read much into it.

Bear in mind that the Japanese were allied to the nation that committed this historical atrocity and that during this very same war they committed many crimes almost as heinous against their own enemies in Asia which they still haven't apologized for in the last 80 years. So their connection to that history is closer than they want to admit, and these comments at best demonstrate how callous the Japanese can be to outsiders due to the sheer disconnect that they have created between themselves and the rest of the world. A quick look through their popular media reveals that in fact, the Japanese can be absolutely massive racists, albeit in their own peculiar way. So I would argue that yes, as a matter of fact we can infer a lot from these comments, certainly about the individual in question. That's why he was fired.

[Ralin]

Bear in mind that the Japanese were allied to the nation that committed this historical atrocity and that during this very same war they committed many crimes almost as heinous against their own enemies in Asia which they still haven't apologized for in the last 80 years. So their connection to that history is closer than they want to admit, and these comments at best demonstrate how callous the Japanese can be to outsiders due to the sheer disconnect that they have created between themselves and the rest of the world.

Allied or not Japan and Germany's atrocities were largely their own separate things and I don't think it follows that the Holocaust has the same cultural resonance for them that it does for us, anymore than it does for Korean and Chinese people. So I'm inclined to ascribe any vague/weird wording in this case up to translation/cultural oddities. It's not like everyone doesn't know what the apology was referring to.

[Broomstick]

Well what level of diligence is needed? It appears to be one joke 13 years ago, should every word you have ever said be reviewed before starting a job?

The article said the "joke" was in 1998, that was 23 years ago, not thirteen - did you mistype it?

Given that time interval I'd have to ask about his conduct since. Did he commit that offense 23 years ago and not since? Or is it part of a long term pattern?

[bilateralrope]

Then there is the obvious question of: Why didn't they get rid of him sooner ?
Was it a lack of due diligence, them not caring until it went public, or was he one of the rare people who made a joke like that without making many similar jokes in other performances ?

Well what level of diligence is needed? It appears to be one joke 13 years ago, should every word you have ever said be reviewed before starting a job?
Given how much is now recorded there is of course the issue that if you do now then the public at large might.

I'd say watch at least one of his comedy acts for each year he was doing them. I doubt the holocaust joke was the only disturbing one he made.

[Bedlam]

The article said the "joke" was in 1998, that was 23 years ago, not thirteen - did you mistype it?

No to my shame I flat-out miscounted it.

[LadyTevar]

Well, Mom's watching the Opening Ceremonies on TV right now.
24hr delay, I guess?

And Suddenly, I hear music from Final Fantasy.
They're playing Video Game Music as the nations walk in.

[bilateralrope]

Tokyo Olympics: How many people have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Games?

Georgia Forrester
20:31, Jul 27 2021

Despite all the safety measures in place at the Tokyo Olympics, Covid-19 is still causing waves of disruption.

Some of the world’s best athletes have had their Olympic dreams dashed after testing positive for the virus, which is still circulating – and in some places raging – around the world.

More than a dozen athletes have been left heartbroken after testing positive, including a gymnastics alternate, two top golfers, a surfer, a number of beach volleyball players, a skateboarder, a table tennis player and a top tennis star.

According to the official Tokyo Olympics website, as of Tuesday, the Games-related Covid-19 case tally in Japan was 155. This number of Covid infected included staff, contractors, media, volunteers and athletes

The Covid-19 reporting data goes back to July 1 and excludes people who were not under the “jurisdiction” of the organising committee, including athletes and staff who tested positive at pre-Games training camps in Japan

Of the official tally, 16 have been reported as being athletes. The vast majority of Olympics-related infections reported have been among “Games-concerned personnel”.

On Monday, 16 new Olympics-related cases were reported by the organisers, of which three were athletes, Japan Times reported.

On Tuesday, another seven cases were reported by organisers, of which two were athletes that had been living in the athletes’ village, Kyodo News reported organisers saying.

According to the newspaper, Tokyo metropolitan police separately stated that three police officers who had been working as security at Olympic venues had also tested positive.

Among the latest athletes to miss out on competing were Dutch duo Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer. The pair were forced to forfeit their men’s tennis doubles match after Rojer tested positive for Covid-19. Their departure sent New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus through to the quarterfinals.

On Sunday, Games organisers confirmed the first positive case of Covid-19 of an athlete post-competing. Dutch rower Finn Florijn tested positive after competing in his heat on Friday.

The 21-year-old, who had been staying at the athletes' village, was forced to forfeit Saturday's race and self-isolate, Kyodo News reported.

Those who test positive for the virus must enter mandatory quarantine.

According to organisers, as of Sunday, more than 37,000 people from foreign countries had entered Japan for the Games, Japan Times reported.

On Monday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 1429 new daily cases among the general population in the city.

Reuters reported that the Olympic host city had asked hospitals on Tuesday to prepare more beds for Covid-19 patients amid the rising case numbers.

The seven-day average of new cases in the city was reportedly 41 per cent higher than a week ago.

155 people related to the games are infected, including 16 athletes. And three police officers working security. So now I have questions about the measures taken to ensure that people working security don't bring covid in from outside. Though that might not matter any more.

[Solauren]

The covid cases are not a surprise.

Really, the only way to have prevented it would have been requiring everyone involved in the games to have been isolated for the past 3 months, in a big apartment building, with food dropped off on the roof every day. Buses to take them to the games would be in the underground parking. Even the drivers isolated during that time. Day of the event, they go in via bus, compete, and after the event, go back to the building (since there is a chance of someone getting disqualified and them moving up in ranking, depending on event).

Anything less? You're going to have cases. It's a airborne virus spread by speaking. You can't get easier to transmit then that!

[bilateralrope]

New Zealand hasn't needed to go that far with our isolation hotels, and they are holding.

But for the games, teams were allowed to train as a group. Meaning a single infected person would spread it among the teams bubble. But only the person who tested positive got ejected from the games. There was no way that was going to hold.

Any predictions on the final medal vs infections count ?
Or when we get the first olympic covid death ?

[Solauren]

New Zealand hasn't needed to go that far with our isolation hotels, and they are holding.

But for the games, teams were allowed to train as a group. Meaning a single infected person would spread it among the teams bubble. But only the person who tested positive got ejected from the games. There was no way that was going to hold.

Hence why the 'farther then New Zealand' isolation. If everyone had been in the same building for 3 months, anyone with the virus would have developed symptoms/been caught/isolated, etc. Possibly even rode it out and be fine to compete.

People seem to be forgetting, that vaccines are NOT a preventative, they're a reinforcement. They raise your odds of surviving the disease, or even better, having a mild case.

And given that some of the competing countries have questionable at best medical systems, or even deny the virus's existence.....

[bilateralrope]

Olympic cameraman stopped filming field hockey to focus on a cockroach in the game's final minutes, baffling fans

Paul Squire Jul 31, 2021, 2:12 AM

An Olympic broadcast featured an unexpected guest: a cockroach.
The broadcast focused on the bug crawling on a ledge during an Olympic preliminary field hockey game.
The unusual decision confused fans.

Viewers watching a preliminary round women's field hockey match at the Tokyo Olympics got an unusual shock this week when the broadcast chose to focus on a cockroach in the stadium during the final moments of the game.

The strange choice of camerawork came in the dying minutes of a pool Olympic women's field hockey match between Argentina and Spain on Monday.

With just over 5 minutes left in the game and Argentina holding a 1-0 lead, the camera cut to the creepy crawler scuttling across a ledge at the event. The roach's starring role can still be seen on NBC's recap of the event.

The decision left many fans on social media confused.

Stephen Simadibrata (Blubasaur)
@stephen_simadi
Olympic athletes competing at a high level? Not interested.

Cockroach waddling? Yes.

❀
@xocyara
That roach did not need that much screen time

The Argentinan women's team would go on to win the match 3-0.

Those tweets include a video if you click the link. They cut to the cockroach footage. So, not only was one camera operator filming it, someone else decided that the cockroach was more interesting than the match.

[Solauren]

Coachroach-lympics just shows was a farce this event it.