Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 17) – The 19 Filipino athletes are set to enter the Tokyo Olympics Village with a different vibe due to the imposition of strict health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team Philippines chef-de-mission Nonong Araneta said these protocols will start to be implemented when the athletes, coaches, and other team officials set foot in Japan at the airport.
“No one will carry your luggage or your bags and nobody will push your cart but only among yourselves once you arrive at the airport,” Araneta shared.
Araneta added usual protocols like wearing of face mask, physical distancing, and frequent handwashing/sanitation are also strictly enforced inside the 44-hectare Olympic village, located in Tokyo’s Harumi Waterfront District.
“Jogging or cycling is allowed inside the village, but masks and social distancing are imposed,” said Araneta.
In the athletes’ village, Team Philippines will occupy seven units with four rooms, two bathrooms, and one office that will serve as the medical room.
Based on the Tokyo 2020 Playbook for Athletes and Officials, athletes will take a saliva antigen test in the airport upon arrival in Japan. They will next undergo three days of quarantine, where they need to test negative for COVID-19 every day.
Athletes are required to report their daily health status in a contact tracing app and health report app. They are also not permitted to use public transport, but allowed to ride on Games-dedicated vehicles.
“Every movement is guarded and limited, you are not allowed to roam the city,” said Araneta.
Rower Cris Nievarez and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Carlo Paalam, Irish Magno, and Nesthy Petecio arrived in Tokyo on Saturday.
Nievarez came from Manila while Marcial flew in from his training camp in Colorado Springs, USA. Paalam, Magno, and Petecio came from their own training camp in Thailand.
Expected to arrive on Sunday are weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz and Elreen Ando, taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa, swimmers Remedy Rule and Luke Gebbie, and shooter Jayson Valdez.
Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe and gymnast Carlos Yulo, both based in Japan, are entering the village also in Sunday.
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena and golfer Juvic Pagunsan are expected to arrive on the opening day of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23, while golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan will come on July 29.
The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics will finally happen from July 23 to Aug. 8.
LOOK: A glimpse of the #Tokyo2020 Olympic Village. @cnnphilippines @sportsdeskph
📷 : PH Olympic Committee pic.twitter.com/b36A2HkihD
— David Tristan Yumol (@dtdyumol) July 17, 2021
LOOK: Filipino Olympic rower Cris Nievarez and coach Ed Maerina arrive in Tokyo. They are staying in the Olympic Athletes' Village. @cnnphilippines @sportsdeskph
📷 : PH Rowing Association pic.twitter.com/l6mwZWxJai
— David Tristan Yumol (@dtdyumol) July 17, 2021
LOOK: Boxer Eumir Marcial arrives in Tokyo from his training camp in Colorado Springs in US.
Marcial will start his quest for gold in the #Tokyo2020 middleweight division on July 26. @cnnphilippines @sportsdeskph
📷: PH Olympic Committee pic.twitter.com/SYLr2VbMZe
— David Tristan Yumol (@dtdyumol) July 17, 2021
