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Japan to ask athletes from Afghanistan, five countries for more COVID-19 tests
Japan plans to ask Olympic athletes from Afghanistan and five other countries hit hard by the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus to have daily virus tests for seven days before leaving for the Games, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday.
Currently, all overseas athletes are being asked to have coronavirus tests twice during the four-day period before their departure for the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to start on July 23 after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.
The Japanese government aims to put the new rule, which will be applied to athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, into effect on July 1, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, without citing sources.
Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Friday a member of the Ugandan Olympic team who tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival had the Delta variant, adding to concern the Games may trigger a new wave of infections.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan, currently run by diplomats of the previous government, has announced that it will suspend its operations in Tokyo after the end of January 2026.
In a statement issued on Friday, the embassy said the decision was made after consultations with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with Japanese authorities, and in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The embassy added that after January 31, all of its political, economic, cultural, and consular activities will be halted until further notice.
Currently, Shaida Abdali is serving as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Japan.
Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, held a courtesy meeting with Zakir Jalali, the Second Political Deputy of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the start of his mission.
The Turkish Embassy in Kabul said in a post that the meeting included mutual exchanges of views on bilateral relations.
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