Tokyo (AFP)
The pandemic has affected almost every aspect of the Tokyo Olympics, from their historic postponement last year to being held almost entirely behind closed doors this summer, and buried the dreams of those who tested positive.
But these Olympics did take place, against all odds.
As they end on Sunday, here is their assessment of the coronavirus.
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How many cases at the Olympics?
From July 1 to this Sunday, the organizers identified 430 cases of Covid-19 out of some 52,000 people accredited for the Olympics (athletes, officials, media ...), as well as thousands of other people from Japan (volunteers, agents of security...).
Infections have affected residents of Japan more than people coming from abroad, when the latter were initially perceived by Japanese public opinion as the main risk factor.
Wearing a mask compulsory for athletes, like here the Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs on the 100m podium of the Tokyo Games, August 2, 2021 Ina FASSBENDER AFP / Archives
About 85% of residents of the Olympic Village were vaccinated, announced the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach shortly before the start of the Games.
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What sporting consequences?
Some athletes were infected even before making the trip to Tokyo, such as the American Bryson DeChambeau and the Spaniard Jon Rahm, two golfers who could claim the Olympic title, or the American tennis player Coco Gauff.
In Japan, 29 Olympic athletes have tested positive since July 1, according to organizers.
The American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks had in particular had to forfeit because of the Covid-19 two days before the start of his qualifying events.
The entire Greek artistic swimming team also had to give up the competition after cases of Covid-19 within it in early August.
Some people have sometimes had a bad experience of their conditions of isolation in hotels in Tokyo.
Dutch skater Candy Jacobs and her compatriot taekwondoist Reshmie Oogink had notably mentioned an "Olympic prison" on social networks, complaining in particular of a lack of access to the open air.
Spectators are kept at a distance by an agent for health security reasons before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, July 23, 2021 Kazuhiro NOGI AFP / Archives
But the catastrophic scenario of a giant cluster in the Olympic Village did not happen, and no match was canceled or any event postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus.
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Did the "Olympic bubble" hold?
During the Olympics, cases of Covid-19 exploded in Tokyo as elsewhere in Japan, reaching unprecedented levels for the country.
The threshold of 5,000 new daily cases was crossed for the first time this week in the capital and that of 15,000 nationwide.
At the opening of the Olympics on July 23, the average of new infections over 7 days was around 1,400 in Tokyo.
The more contagious Delta variant has spread rapidly in Japan, while vaccination is less advanced there than in other countries (only a third of the national population is currently fully vaccinated).
But there was no proven transmission of the virus between participants in the Olympics and the Japanese population, the organizers insisted.
Wearing a mask compulsory for Olympic delegations, such as the Japanese here, at the opening of the Tokyo Games, July 23, 2021 Martin BUREAU AFP / Archives
The vast majority of residents of the Olympic Village have complied with the restrictions, although there have been a few high-profile cases of exiting the "bubble", such as Georgian judokas and members of the Australian men's field hockey team.
The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, estimated that the Olympics contributed to limiting the movements of the inhabitants, many of them having followed the competitions at home, on television.
Japanese health experts, however, estimated that the Olympics had an "indirect" effect on the infection curve in Tokyo, by encouraging the population to lower their guard against the virus.
Meanwhile, a growing number of bars and restaurants are defying government calls to close early in the evening and not to serve alcohol, according to local media.
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What about the Paralympic Games?
Scheduled from August 24 to September 5, the Paralympic Games will see participants subject to the same restrictions as during the Olympics, such as daily Covid-19 screening tests for athletes and travel reduced to a minimum.
The police try to neutralize the protesters hostile to the Olympics, in front of the hotel of the IOC President Thomas Bach in Tokyo, July 17, 2021 Yuki IWAMURA AFP / Archives
The organizers must decide after the Olympics whether or not the public will be allowed on the Paralympic venues.
Under the state of emergency currently in force in Tokyo, a tonnage of 5,000 people is authorized for cultural or sporting events unrelated to the Games.
© 2021 AFP