Countdown to Olympics continues as more athletes test positive
NEW YORK - Yet another athlete connected to the Olympic Games has tested positive for COVID-19. American gymnast Kara Eaker, an alternate on the U.S. team, is now in quarantine.
Dozens of athletes have tested positive but Brian McCloskey, the leading health advisor for the games, said this was expected and his take is the numbers are actually low.
"It's about how quickly we identify them, how quickly the cases are taken away, quarantine, treated, and looked after," he said, "and how quickly the contacts are identified and put in isolation."
Japan reported more than 3,100 COVID-19 cases and at least three deaths on Sunday. And Tokyo has reported more than 1,000 new cases a day for five straight days.
The Olympic Games will basically be a television-only event. No fans are allowed. Protesters and others argue the games should be canceled. However, experts say the financial cost of canceling the games would be catastrophic.
"There's just too much money at stake," said Rick Burton, a Syracuse University sports management professor and the former chief marketing officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
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Japan has invested well over $15 billion to hold the summer games. The International Olympic Committee makes most of its money from television contracts and sponsorships.
"There are broadcast networks that have paid billions for the rights to broadcast in their home countries," Burton said. "There's sponsors that have paid more collectively than a billion dollars."
Paul Droubie, a history professor at Manhattan College, has written extensively about sports in Japan and the Olympics.
"It's all about the money," Droubie said. "If you cancel the games, then that money has to get paid back or at least a lot of it does."