A foreign Paralympian has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, the first such case among athletes either at the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics, the organizing committee said Thursday.
Masanori Takaya, spokesman for the committee, told a press briefing the athlete, who was hospitalized Tuesday night, is not in a “serious condition.”
The committee on Thursday confirmed another 13 positive COVID-19 cases linked to the Paralympics, which brought the cumulative total from Aug. 12 to 275.
Separately, International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence said that Belgian wheelchair tennis player Joachim Gerard has been hospitalized after fainting in the athletes village, possibly due to a cardiac issue.
Gerard, 32, regained consciousness and was able to answer questions after he was rushed to a hospital on Wednesday evening, according to a statement released by the Belgium National Paralympic Committee.
Gerard had already finished competing at the Tokyo Paralympics, losing in the men’s doubles quarterfinal and singles third round on Monday.
The 17-day Olympics closed on Aug. 8 and the 13-day Paralympics will wrap up Sunday.
The Tokyo Games are being held mostly without spectators amid another wave of COVID-19 infections and at a time when the capital and many other areas of the country remain under a state of emergency.
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