From masks and bus rides, hotel quarantine to some personal essentials, here’s a look at how NBC 7 News Today anchor Steven Luke is traveling around Tokyo as he gears up to cover the Olympics.
NBC 7’s Steven Luke shares what quarantine looks like before the Olympic’s opening ceremony
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As he arrived in Tokyo over the weekend, Luke was required to quarantine.
He’s allowed to leave the hotel for quick, 15-minute trips to get essentials or aboard a pre-approved media bus.
Steven LukeNBC 7’s Steven Luke arrive in Tokyo ahead of the Olympics.
For those outings, Luke said he always brings along five essentials:
- A mask: “Everyone wears them here and it would certainly stand out against what we’ve been told to do it I didn’t have this on every where I go,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter if I’m 6 feet or 60 feet away from somebody in public; I wear a mask.”
- Cellphone: “This is my lifeline to everybody I’m working with here around me, Google Maps, and also, there’s a health check on here that I have to fill out every single day and submit to the Tokyo government,” Luke said.
- Water: “It’s hot – we’re in the 90s, but with just how humid it is, it feels like the triple digits and it is so intense, that heat exhaustion will sneak up on you if you’re not drinking water.”
- Media Credential: “This gets me into NBC facilities and in past games, this would get you into the Olympic venues. But because of all the restrictions here, that’s a little more limited this time.”
- COVID Saliva Tests: “It’s a little tube filled with saliva. We have to fill out COVID saliva tests and submit them so that they know we’re safe and cleared, You have to throw it in a little box just as soon as I get to the hotel where I’m working.”
During one of his 15-minute outings, Luke sprinted to a nearby Starbucks. It was a literal coffee run — or the “Quarantine Olympic Dash” — as you can see here:
Also, Luke noted, air high fives will have to do in Tokyo this time around.
NBC 7 will follow all of Luke’s coverage from Tokyo.
You can also follow Luke on social media:
NBC 7 has full coverage of the Tokyo Olympics here from July 23 through Aug. 8.
Tokyo marks Luke’s sixth Olympics with NBC 7. He has been our NBC 7 Olympics correspondent for Torino 2006; London 2012; Sochi 2014; Rio de Janeiro 2016; Pyeongchang 2018.
So, he knows a thing or two about making his way around the Olympic zones though, he notes, Tokyo – with the global pandemic still happening – is already unlike any Olympics he’s ever covered.
For another layer of Tokyo Olympics coverage, check out Luke’s Olympic Dreams: San Diego to Tokyo podcast where he sat down with many Team USA athletes training for their chance at gold including skateboarder Heimana Reynolds, long jumper Brittney Reese, and water polo star Jesse Smith.
Listen/Subscribe to NBC 7’s Olympic Dreams: San Diego to Tokyo podcast wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts. On each episode, NBC 7 News Today anchor Steven Luke will sit down with athletes in their prime, each with their sights set on one thing: representing Team USA in Tokyo this summer. How will they achieve their Olympic dreams?
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