Tokyo Olympics organisers said yesterday they may put off an announcement on how many fans can attend the Games until May or June, as surging coronavirus infections play havoc with preparations.
Athletes are also likely to face daily virus testing, rather than once every four days as originally planned.
Organisers have already barred overseas fans from the pandemic-delayed Games, and were expected to announce an upper limit on domestic spectators sometime in April.
But Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said they are now only likely to “decide a direction” this month, and the decision could come as late as June – possibly just a month before the Games open on July 23.
The move would further delay ticket sales, which were put on hold when the Olympics were postponed last year.
“The Covid-19 situation is changing as we speak,” Hashimoto said after organisers had reported to an executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee.
“There are only 93 days left to go. We would like to make a proper judgement, and we may need more time in order to be able to do that.”
“We need to carefully make a final decision about the spectators. The timing could be May or June,” added Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto. Athletes are also likely to face a stricter testing regimen, as organisers prepare to release an updated version of their virus rulebooks “as soon as possible”, Hashimoto said.
“In principle, tests will be conducted every day, but we are still in the process of taking the decision.”

Test events delayed

Japan’s latest rise in cases is causing further disruption for the postponed Games, with a number of test events delayed, cancelled or moved abroad.
In the latest upheaval, an artistic swimming qualifying competition has been moved from Japan, organisers said, and spectators will reportedly be barred from an athletics event at the main Olympic stadium.
The artistic swimming qualifier was originally set to take place in Tokyo in March before being rescheduled to May 1-4, but will now be held in June at “a location to be defined, outside Japan”, organisers said late Tuesday.
World swimming governing body FINA said in a statement that “challenges related to the international calendar and the necessary adaptation of the venue to the Olympic Games operations” were behind the decision. FINA has already rescheduled a Diving World Cup event in Tokyo and moved a marathon swimming Olympic qualifier from Japan to Portugal, amid reported dissatisfaction over virus countermeasures.
Japanese media said yesterday that an athletics test event – which will double as a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet and feature athletes from overseas – will be held without spectators.
Organisers were set to allow 20,000 fans into the May 9 meet, according to Kyodo news agency, but tougher restrictions imposed by the Tokyo city government this month have forced a rethink.
Virus restrictions are expected to be tightened further this week, with Tokyo and several other regions seeking a state of emergency to tackle rising cases.
“Test events are a very important part of the preparation for the Games, so we want to hold them as scheduled,” said Muto.
Despite the virus situation, Olympic organisers and local officials insist the Games can be held safely.


Potential Tokyo state of emergency does not affect Games – IOC

A potential state of emergency that could be imposed on Tokyo is unrelated to Olympic Games preparations and is part of the government’s plan to curb infections during Japan’s holiday week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday. Japan’s government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka, local media reported, a move that would enable prefectural authorities to impose curbs to try to stop infections spreading.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is preparing to request an emergency period be declared from April 29 to May 9, encompassing Japan’s annual “Golden Week” holiday period, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
“We were informed there might be another state of emergency declared in Tokyo,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. “We understand that this would be a proactive measure for the ‘Golden Week’ holiday with which the government is aiming to prevent the spread of infection.
“This measure would be in line with the very diligent approach we see taken by Japanese authorities,” he said following an IOC Executive Board meeting and a report from the Tokyo Games organisers.
With thousands of new cases resulting from highly infectious strains of the virus, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said the government wants to decide this week whether to declare the state of emergency for major parts of the country.
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year in 2020 and the IOC has said there are no plans to cancel or postpone them again, with the Games now less than 100 days away.
“This (state of emergency) is absolutely in line with the overall policy of the government but it is not related to the Olympic Games,” Bach said. “It is related to the Golden Week.”
Japan has so far avoided the rapid spread of the pandemic which has plagued many Western countries, with total cases at about 540,000 and a death toll of just under 10,000. The latest rise in infections has stoked alarm, however, coming just months before the start of the Olympics and amid a sluggish vaccination roll-out. (Reuters)
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