Tokyo Olympic organisers said yesterday the leg of the torch relay in Okinawa’s Miyakojima island would not be held on public roads because the region is currently subject to priority measures for containing the spread of the coronavirus.
“Tokyo 2020 will continue to work closely with Okinawa prefecture and the local task forces in all other prefectures due to host Olympic Torch Relay segments in order to ensure that these events will be safe and secure for all local communities” the organising committee said in a statement.
Sections of the torch relay were also moved off public roads in Osaka and the city of Matsuyama as those areas battle a resurgence in infections.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meanwhile promised to ensure a safe Tokyo Olympics this summer, after announcing a new state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures.
The measures will go into effect from April 25 to May 11, raising questions about Japan’s ability to host the Olympics amid a resurgent coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Barcelona will host an Olympic artistic swimming qualifier in June after it was unable to be held in Tokyo, world body FINA said.
The June 10-13 tournament will be the final qualifier before the delayed 2020 Olympics start on July 23, with three of the 10 participating teams and seven of 22 duets still to secure their places.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted preparations for the start of the Summer Games.
An operational artistic swimming test event will be held in Tokyo in July. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Also, Australia’s diving team said it was “not safe” to travel to Japan as they withdrew from a Tokyo Olympics test event just three months before the pandemic-postponed Games begin.
The Diving World Cup was set to take place from May 1-6 in the Japanese capital.
But with the Japanese government due to impose new virus states of emergency in Tokyo and three other regions yesterday, Diving Australia said they had concluded it would “not be safe to send our athletes and officials to the World Cup”.
“It is our clear position, in light of the current circumstances, that a fair and safe Olympic qualification event is not possible at this time,” a statement said. Japan has seen a comparatively small Covid-19 outbreak, with fewer than 10,000 deaths despite never imposing the strict lockdowns seen in other countries.
But surging cases have prompted fresh restrictions as the country gears up to host the Games, forcing torch relays off public roads in an effort to keep spectators away.
The Olympics test events have faced serious disruption, with several postponed or relocated due to surging infections.