Tokyo, Jul 21 (PTI) Only 30 of the 376 British athletes at the Olympics will participate in the Games opening ceremony here on Friday owing to COVID-19 concerns, media reports have stated.

"Great Britain's athletes will stay away from the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Tokyo on Friday amid concerns about catching Covid-19," 'The Times' reported.

"Team GB would normally expect about 200 athletes to attend the Games curtain raiser at the Olympic stadium. But The Times understands that as few as 30 athletes from the 376-strong British team are likely to attend."

Britain are due to name their flag-bearers for the ceremony on Thursday.

The opening ceremony will be attended by less 1,000 dignitaries and no general spectators will be allowed.

The Games are going ahead despite mounting health safety concerns amid the pandemic.

The organisers have so far reported 75 event-related COVID cases, six of them athletes, of whom four were staying at the Games Village.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)