LOCKDOWN OLYMPICS..

Inside bizarre world of Covid-19 Games ‘bubble’

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

BRITAIN’S biggest Olympic team is just four days away from the strangest Games in history.

The first of our 376 competitors are at their training camp in Japan, a country gripped by the fear of Covid-19.

At Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, athletes queued for virus tests and verification of a track and trace app as the Japanese welcomed them with applause.

The US rowing teams sat playing cards beneath a flickering screen of virus test numbers as the Mirror landed.

There is a 45-minute wait for results. Like a bizarre game of Covid bingo, when your code comes up, you can go.

The process takes two to three hours, with more paperwork before boarding an Olympic bus into the city.

The lack of people on the streets is an indication of the state of emergency in place for the Games, which begin with the opening ceremony on Friday.

Small groups of residents scurried across empty roads in face masks.