The NSK officially informs us that a new COVID-19 case has turned up at Tatsunami beya, bringing the total number of infected in that heya to 11. The rikishi is not a sekitori and therefore his name was not disclosed. He tested negative in the first round of close contact testing, but on the 18th he came up with a runny nose and other light symptoms, and got re-tested, and this time he was positive.
Since the first test, he has not gone out nor has he mixed with the other rikishi still in the heya, so there are no close contacts to test at this time. He will be sent to a hotel, according to the instructions of the local health authority.
Elsewhere, Minato oyakata, who has been confirmed positive on the 15th, his been admitted to hospital on December 17th, says Shibatayama oyakata, who serves as the NSK’s spokesperson.
We wish both the unnamed rikishi and Minato oyakata a quick and full recovery.
Japan is in the midst of its strongest wave of infections, according to data from the WHO. https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/jp
Yes, I listen to news on NHK World and I’m starting to wonder if the basho won’t have to be cancelled.
I would not be surprised if there’s a rollback in the planned increase in fan attendance.
I too think they will first cancel the audience before they cancel the basho. Seems to be the trend world wide. Keep athletes in some sort of bubble and have competitions without audience, but continue the competition.
It all depends on what the government decides to do. If the outbreak escalates badly enough, e.g. traveling between prefectures is banned, they will have to cancel it simply because many heya are outside of Tokyo.