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Japan: First Paralympics athlete with COVID-19 in hospital

A foreign athlete participating in the Paralympic Games in Japan has been hospitalized with non-severe symptoms of COVID-19, Kyodo News said on Thursday 26 August, citing the Games' organizing committee.

It is the first hospitalization of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which opened on Tuesday.

Hospitals in Japan treating COVID-19 patients have usually reserved beds for people showing severe symptoms.

The national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan government appealed on Monday to hospitals in the capital to accept more COVID-19 patients.

Less than 10% of coronavirus patients are hospitalized in Tokyo, and the low level of admissions has added to public frustration with the government's COVID-19 response, undermining voter support for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.