Chilean Taekwondo player out of Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Tokyo

Chilean Taekwondo player Fernanda Aguirre was on July 21 ruled out of the Olympics after she tested positive for COVID-19 on arriving at the airport in Tokyo, her country’s olympic body said.

“Fernanda Aguirre has tested positive for COVID-19 in the tests carried out on her arrival in Japan,” Chile’s National Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Aguirre travelled to Tokyo from Uzbekistan with negative COVID-19 report but tested positive in both the antigen and PCR tests conducted at the airport here, following which she was quarantined at a designated facility.

“The athlete is asymptomatic and in good health, but unfortunately she will not be able to compete in this event because the Japanese health authorities impose a quarantine of at least 10 days,” the Chile NOC stated.

The Taekwondo event gets underway on July 24.

Her coach Jose Zapata has also been quarantined despite negative tests as he was deemed a close contact.

Aguirre was one of the eight COVID-19 cases among Games-related personnel revealed by the organising committee on July 21.

Before Aguirre, five athletes, three of them residing at the Games village, were found to be infected by the virus but none of them on arrival at the airport.

The total number of Games-related COVID-19 cases have risen to 75 with the addition of eight cases on July 21.

The Covid-hit Olympics will open on Friday and will go on till August 8 without any spectators.