PRESS RELEASE

Association of SARS-CoV-2 Load in Wastewater With Reported COVID-19 Cases in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village From July to September 2021


Authors
Masaaki Kitajima, Michio Murakami, Syun-suke Kadoya, Hiroki Ando, Tomohiro Kuroita, Hiroyuki Katayama, Seiya Imoto

Introduction
Because SARS-CoV-2 transmission was a major concern during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, wastewater surveillance,1 mandatory daily screenings with antigen saliva tests,2 and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for close contacts of individuals with confirmed cases3 were conducted in the Olympic and Paralympic Village. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the association of SARS-CoV-2 load in wastewater with the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and tests for close contacts.

References
1. Kitajima  M, Murakami  M, Iwamoto  R, Katayama  H, Imoto  S.  COVID-19 wastewater surveillance implemented in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village.   J Travel Med. Published online February 3, 2022. doi:10.1093/jtm/taac004PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref


2. International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee. The playbook: athletes and officials. June 15, 2021. Accessed February 6, 2022. https://olympics.com/ioc/tokyo-2020-playbooks

3. Akashi  H, Shimada  S, Tamura  T, Chinda  E, Kokudo  N.  SARS-CoV-2 infections in close contacts of positive cases in the Olympic and Paralympic Village at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.   JAMA. 2022;327(10):978-980. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.0818



JAMA Network Open: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2795496