A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going ahead as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus.
The comments from spokesman Yoshihide Suga follow the assertion by former IOC vice-president Dick Pound that organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate of the games, Associated Press (AP) reported.
The Olympics are set to open on July 24 with 11,000 athletes. The Paralympics open Aug. 25 with 4,400.
Pound told the Associated Press that the fast-spreading virus could cancel the Olympics. Suga says Pound’s opinion does not reflect the official view of the IOC, which has repeatedly said there are no plans to cancel or postpone the Tokyo Games.
The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700 globally. China has reported 2,715 deaths among 78,064 cases on the mainland. Five deaths in Japan have been attributed to the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.
“With regard to this member’s comment, the IOC has responded that this is not their official position, and that the IOC is proceeding with preparations toward the games as scheduled,” Suga said, speaking in Japanese at his daily news conference.
Pound has been a member of the IOC since 1978, serving two terms as vice-president, and was the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He also represented Canada as a swimmer at the Olympics.
As the games draw near, Pound said, “A lot of things have to start happening you’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in their building their studios.”
The threat of the virus seems to be growing.
At a government task force meeting Wednesday on the virus outbreak, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was asking organizers to cancel or postpone major sports or cultural events over the next two weeks.
“The next one to two weeks is extremely important for the prevention of the escalation of the infection,” Abe said. “We ask organizers to cancel, postpone or scale down the size of such events.”
He did not name specific events but said he was speaking about nationwide events that attract large crowds.
“We believe it is necessary to make a worst case scenario in order to improve our operation to achieve success.” She added plans were being made “so that we can safely hold the Tokyo Olympics.” Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, speaking in parliament, said.
