Apr 11 (Japan Today) - The organizing committee for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is planning to secure a hotel with about 300 rooms for athletes with minor or no symptoms of the coronavirus, officials with knowledge of the plan said.
It is yet another effort from the organizing committee to prevent the spread of the virus during this summer's games, the officials said, adding that the hotel will be used to isolate and treat the athletes around the clock soon after testing positive for the virus.
Those athletes and Olympic staff members who do not need to be hospitalized will be quarantined in hotel rooms for 10 days in principle, said the officials, who declined to be named as the plan has not been made public.
The committee is considering reserving an entire hotel building located a few kilometers away from the athletes' village in Tokyo's Harumi waterfront district, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of yen, according to the officials.
It also plans to prepare up to 30 special vehicles, designed to protect drivers from infection, to transport COVID-19 patients to the hotel.
Since the Summer Games will draw athletes and officials from across the globe, it is seeking to meet their needs at the hotel, such as offering multi-language services and halal food.
