Tokyo Olympics Chief Declines to Rule Out Cancellation of Games
Voice of America
The Tokyo Olympics is set to open in three days, but the chief of the organizing committee declined Tuesday to rule out a last-minute cancelation if the number of COVID-19 cases among athletes continue to spike.
Toshiro Muto said at a news conference he is watching the infection numbers, with 71 coronavirus cases already reported since July 1 of people accredited to participate in the Games or be there in some capacity. "We will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases," Muto said. “At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises." But a spokesman for Tokyo 2020, so named for last year’s postponed Olympics, later said organizers were "concentrating 100% on delivering successful Games."FILE - People hold a banner during a public rally held for the Myanmar community in Australia calling for ASEAN to not support the Myanmar Military Junta, outside the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit venue, in Melbourne, Australia March 4, 2024. FILE - Myanmar military officers march during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 79th Armed Forces Day, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2024.
FILE - Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 16, 2024. FILE - Pipes are stacked up to be used for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project in Durres, Albania, April 18, 2016, to transport gas from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan, across Turkey, Greece, Albania and undersea into southern Italy.