A senior member of the International Olymic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are likely to be canceled if the coronavirus outbreak is not controlled by late May. Some countries and regions have issued travel warnings to Japan.
First thing first, here's a brief of the current epidemic situation so far as of Wednesday afternoon according to DingXiangYiSheng:
Confirmed cases: 80,994 worldwide
Deaths: 2,763, mostly in Hubei
Recovered cases: 30,100
Incubation period: no more than 14 days
6 provinces lower emergency response level
△ Epidemic map made by DingXiangYiSheng
As shown above, the coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 80,000 people globally and killed over 2,700 the vast majority of them in China.
But the virus has gained a foothold in South Korea, Japan, the Middle East and Europe, raising concerns of a pandemic.
Japan is on the edge of a rapid spread of the virus, as the confirmed number has now topped 861, including passengers previously quarantined at the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
△ Epidemic situation in Japan as of Feb 24
South Korea and Japan have become two of the most virus-stricken countries outside of China. Some countries and regions have issued travel warnings to them.
Several Chinese cities raised their alert and implemented strict entry measures on Tuesday by asking all foreign visitors to undergo quarantine amid rising fears of the fast-spreading outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Japan and South Korea, aiming to prevent overseas cases of infection.
If it proves too dangerous to hold the Olympics in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers are more likely to cancel it altogether than to postpone or move it, according to the reports.
Dick Pound, a long-serving senior member of the IOC, estimated there is a 3-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May.
“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’” he said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.
As the games draw near, he 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 there building their studios.”
If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, “you’re probably looking at a cancellation,” he said.
About 11,000 athletes from around the world are expected in Tokyo for the Olympics, with a further 4,400 bound for the Paralympics opening on August 25.
The IOC's preparations for both is currently "business as usual", Pound said but he added the Games could not be rescheduled.
Pound repeated the IOC’s stance — that it is relying on consultations with the World Health Organization, a United Nations body, to make any move.
The future of the Tokyo Games is largely out of the IOC's hands and depends on the course the virus takes, he said.
Officials have consistently denied the Olympics will be postponed or cancelled.
Earlier on Wednesday the minister in charge of the Olympics sought to quell fears of the cancellation.
"The IOC is preparing for the Tokyo Games as scheduled," Minister Seiko Hashimoto said in parliament when asked about Pound's comment. "We will continue our preparations so that the IOC can make sound decisions."
In a briefing with reporters, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he had been told by the IOC that Pound's comment that any cancellation decision would be made in May was not the IOC's official stance.
Now matter what will happen, Tokyo has been forced to postpone training for volunteers, with large scale gatherings like March's Tokyo Marathon already voluntarily curtailed or halted altogether.
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SOURCE | Associated Press / BJ News
