Tokyo Olympics: Uganda rugby player vanishes in Monaco during COVID

A rugby player on Uganda's national team has disappeared from his hotel in Monaco where the team was isolated after some members tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the repechage qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.

Uganda Rugby Union in a statement issued here on Saturday said the player, James Odong, is being looked for by security authorities in Monaco.

The world rugby body withdrew Uganda from the competition because of the COVID-19 cases in the team. The team was placed in isolation in Monaco.

Uganda has of late had incidents of its players testing positive in a foreign country after testing negative before travel.

The most recent has been two of its athletes to the Tokyo Olympics who tested positive in Japan ahead of the Games scheduled for next month.

The East African country is grappling with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen the country registering over 1,000 cases daily.

The country is currently under a partial lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.

Ministry of Health figures show that as of June 24, the country's cumulative confirmed cases were at 77,505 since March last year.