An athlete and five Tokyo Olympic workers have tested Covid positive barely eight days for the opening ceremony, organisers of the mega event said on Thursday. The identity of the six people has not been revealed by the Games officials.

The news started doing the rounds as eight staff members of a hotel hosting Brazil's judo team tested positive. A staff member of the Russian rugby sevens team was also hosptalised after returning a positive test.

Earlier, it was reported that out of the 8,000-plus people travelling to Japan between July 1 to 13, three had reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival and were immediately isolated.

Overall in Tokyo, the scenario is far more serious. The city reported its highest number of new Covid-19 cases in almost six months on Wednesday, the Tokyo Metropolitan government said with the Games opening in just over a week. The surging numbers came out on the same day that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach paid a courtesy call in Tokyo on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Suga and Bach have both pledged that the Olympics will be "safe and secure" despite Tokyo and neighbouring prefectures under a national government-imposed state of emergency. Tokyo reported 1,149 new cases on Wednesday. This was the highest since 1,184 were reported almost six months ago on January 22. It also marked the 25th straight day that cases were higher than they were a week earlier.