Japan hospitalises first Paralympics participant with COVID-19 -Kyodo

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, stands in front of the second Paralympic flame cauldron at Ariake Yume-no-Ohashi Bridge, a day after the official opening of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, in Tokyo, Japan, August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - A foreign participant in the Paralympic Games in Japan has been hospitalised with non-severe symptoms of COVID-19, Kyodo News said on Thursday, citing the Games' organising committee.

It is the first hospitalisation 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 hospitalised 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.

(This story corrects to "participant" rather than "athlete" in headline and lead paragraph)

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)

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