Tokyo Shows Off Olympic Village With Enhanced Anti-Coronavirus Measures

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2021) Organizers of the Tokyo Summer Games unveiled the Olympic Village to media on Sunday, boasting thought-out preventive measures against COVID-19 and an on-site quarantine facility.

The village was officially opened on July 13, but was not available for journalists to tour the site and take closer look at the rooms, dining hall, and other facilities.

Located in the Harumi waterfront district of Tokyo, the 44-hectare village is surrounded by water from three sides, which divides it into three zones � residential, working and the Village Plaza, which is designed to lodge a media center, shops, cafes, a gym and other facilities that athletes and their teams might need during their stay.

The residential segment includes 21 buildings scattered across the village's territory, each from 14 to 18 floors in height. In total, these buildings have about 3,800 rooms, which can accommodate up to 18,000 Olympic athletes and up to 8,000 Paralympic athletes.

The Olympic Village guests will be offered up to 700 different dishes, traditional of both the Japanese cuisine and national cuisines of other countries.

The 24/7 dining hall is designed to lodge 5,500 athletes and serve about 45,000 dishes daily.

"Our common position is that alcohol will be allowed on the territory of the village, but the consumption of it will be limited to the athletes' private rooms," Takashi Kitajima, the village's general manager, told reporters.

With regard to medical facilities, the Olympic Village accommodates an area where doping tests will be conducted, a medical center with a physiotherapy department, MRI and melting ice baths, and a temporary medical center where PCR tests will be carried out and where suspected COVID-19 patients can quarantine.

Near the Harumi port, the organizers arranged for so-called cool spots where athletes and their teams can get a massage on chairs powered by hydrogen with some of the elements sourced from the Fukushima prefecture.

The Olympic Games are scheduled to start on July 23 and the Paralympic Games on August 24.