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Tokyo Olympics may go without spectators owing to rising cases of coronavirus. Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa has made this announcement.
A state of emergency in Tokyo will run throughout the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told media state of emergency will run from July 12 till August 22. Bars and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol and must close by 11 GMT.
The Tokyo Olympics were to be held in 2020 but had to be postponed due to covid. Coronavirus infections are rising in Tokyo as the July 23 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games comes close. There has been widespread opposition to the Games in Japan, with calls for them to be postponed or cancelled.
After meeting government officials, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said, “It is regrettable that we are delivering the Games in a very limited format, facing the spread of coronavirus infections. I am sorry to those who purchased tickets and everyone in local areas.”
“Taking into consideration the effect of coronavirus variants and not to let the infections spread again to the rest of the nation, we need to strengthen our countermeasures,” the prime minister said.
The state of emergency was announced after a meeting between the organising committee, the government and the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, who has just arrived in Japan.
The Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in the Japanese capital between July 23 and August 8. The Paralympic Games are between 24 August and 5 September. A new wave of infections began in April, but overall the country has had relatively low case numbers and a death toll of around 14,900.
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Little over 15% of the people in Japan are fully vaccinated. There is rising concern over the threat of the Delta variant. In Tokyo and Osaka, the two cities hit hardest by the recent surge, authorities hope over-65s will be fully vaccinated by the end of July.
