Japan pledges safe Olympics; medical experts aren't so sure

There is no way that anyone can call it safe when we do not know what is going to happen in the future. Unless you can tell the future like a fortune teller. Oh! That's it. They are fortune tellers. Got it. My bad.

First priority of any nation state should be protecting lives of its people. A cancellation is the only answer.

Japan pledges safe Olympics; medical experts aren't so sure

title says it all

First priority of any nation state should be protecting lives of its people. A cancellation is the only answer.

well said, although I've NEVER known the LDP to get their priorities straight

Those in charge on the decision of holding the Games must later be held criminally responsible.

If the Games are held in 2021 it might save the IOC in the short term but it will proof fatal in the mid to long term.

As an organiser, well informed and experienced, there is no real reason not to postpone to August-October 2022. That avoids clashes with the Winter Games and the World Cup football Qatar. And 2022 would be the real victory on the virus with a sports year as never before.. that is if the Winter Olympics will happen in Beijing.

Japan pledges safe Olympics; medical experts aren't so sure

This might explain Japans disclaimer, participant's attend at their own risk.

Eliminate the economic incentive and see how much the organizers keep pushing for the games.

The quote,

"If you have your public health lens on, this is doing everything that we don't want to be doing right now."

from Vally in the text pretty well sums it up for me - the Olympics are too big a risk this year.

First priority of any nation state should be protecting lives of its people. A cancellation is the only answer.

Yeah right, that is why America just had the Super Bowl. The UK is still having EPL matches and the Australian open is still being played.

Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he'd probably support a cancelation.

That seems to be a strange way of thinking for an infectious disease specialist.

"With frequent testing, and athletes and staff limiting their movement and staying in bubbles, and everyone watching it on television, that is a possibility that I can imagine now," said Hamada.

Why does he think any country except Japan is incapable of doing this? The PL in England, the NBA and NFL in the US are just 2 very high profile places that have implemented athlete bubbles relatively successfully.

Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain's University of Southampton. "But I think from... the global public health point of view, there's nothing about the Olympics that makes any sense whatsoever right now."

Correct. All efforts should be focussed on more important areas now, such as funding health care and making sure doctors and nurses can work 100% on their jobs and not thinking about whether they have to go and serve a vanity project at a big unnecessary party.

Can anyone really be surprised that a Government chooses the bottom line over health concerns?

Robert maes

As an organiser, well informed and experienced, there is no real reason not to postpone to August-October 2022

Have been saying since March 2020: cancel the thing: Impossible in 2021, probably impossible in 2022 as well. Why do you think 2022 will any better? What are you organising man?

The only real chance we had was to move them all forward four years; Tokyo 2024, Paris 2028, etc.

Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he'd probably support a cancelation.

This just about sums up the attitude of the authorities here. You can bet your life they'll be supporting a boycott of Beijing next winter.

Japan tends to pledge and urge a lot. They are very shy when it comes to promises and directives.

"Mixing of people from so many different countries will simply accelerate the likelihood of new variants emerging."

This is bigger than the athletes and bigger than Japan. This potentially has global ramifications. But screw it right? The show must go on! Human greed at its worst imo.

This is a time for large companies to shine. Do the right thing and pull your advertising budgets for this. That will bring this farce to a stop real quick.

Yeah right, that is why America just had the Super Bowl. The UK is still having EPL matches

The US and UK are hardly prime examples of how to deal with a pandemic.

Let’s say you’re the CEO of Nike as an example. You can go ahead and pour millions into TV advertising just as you are expected to and everyone will forget about not long after the show ends. Or, you could take stand and announce you are pulling out of the Olympics due to concerns they may further exacerbate the global public health crisis, further damaging the economy and livelihoods of your employees and loyal customers around the world. That is PR GOLD right there!

Those who have vested interests in the Games, politicians or businessmen, should listen to the medical experts, people who are in-the-know. Never trade 'name or profit' for 'lives'.

We said before, wait till April to make a thorough assessment of the pandemic threat before making the final decision whether to have the Olympics or not.

I'm not sure if the decision to cancel the games even rests with Japan but if it does - you can guarantee that this government will NOT be the ones to pull the plug.

No no. In order to save face, they will wait for the IOC to make the call once individual countries begin to pull their teams.

Or, you could take stand and announce you are pulling out of the Olympics due to concerns they may further exacerbate the global public health crisis, further damaging the economy and livelihoods of your employees and loyal customers around the world.

Bang on Fuzzy. If the sponsors pull out, it will seal the deal for cancellation.

TV advertising company Dentsu, a company that’s been in the red since early 2019, may well be pushing for the Olympics to happen.

An exodus of Asahi, Kirin and Coke would help.

To Kirin, Asahi and Coke - the people of Japan almost unanimously associate the Olympics with COVID and infection and are against it. Is that the brand association you want?

"Mixing of people from so many different countries will simply accelerate the likelihood of new variants emerging."

For science, this will be a gold mine, but also extremely dangerous.

Pride and Price .

The US and UK are hardly prime examples of how to deal with a pandemic.

and yet Japan want to accept 1000s of athletes and officials from those countries to the super spreader event, Japan will end up having multiple strains of covid when the Olympic is done. but too many its just a shrug of the shoulders and we should be outside during summer because you know its my life and I can spread the virus or get it if I choose!?

Yeah right, that is why America just had the Super Bowl. The UK is still having EPL matches and the Australian open is still being played.

well you want the UK USA to send all their covid officials to Japan, Australia has the virus contained and one of the few countries that would be safe to send their teams, unfortunately coming to Japan would actually increase the risk of infection since Japan has higher cases of infection than Australia

Japan pledges safe Olympics

I wonder how much less they would recover from holding the Olympics without an audience.

Hmmm, who to believe?

Japan?

or

Medical people with medical education, having years of medical experience, giving medical advice?

Tough call.

Well since preparations are under way for the athletes to 'fool around' there's definitely going to be some cross contamination taking place in 'quarantine'....so the arguments about which sports might be dangerous is kind of mute.

The IOC could probably make more money by subscription streaming the off field 'action' anyway??

Well since preparations are under way for the athletes to 'fool around' there's definitely going to be some cross contamination taking place in 'quarantine'....so the arguments about which sports might be dangerous is kind of mute.

This is not just about risk to the athletes, or visiting staff. The risk of a superspreader event is the impact on all 126 million of us, and from then on, out to other countries. This is not often directly spelt out, and I think a lot of people are not thinking of the potential consequences. That's why the public health experts are now speaking out. Holding the Games will be the ideal opportunity to generate new variants, and then spread these through the Japanese population. It is impossible to seal off these Games.

From the public health point of view, the risk is just massive, and it makes no sense at all to hold them.

They always need asking The Experts first before deciding something.

Now, don't listen to The Experts.

They also pledged the cheapest Games in recent history, and it's proving to be the most expensive. They pledged a free and welcoming Games, but they've been extremely racist in their corona virus procedures at airports and allowing people in, and have Mori to hammer down the fact that sexism is still rampant here, and females inferior. They've said it'll be the most compact Games, but have talked about holding Games at venues across the nation. They've said they deserve it as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings, they've said they deserve it because of the disasters of 3/11, they've said it represents victory over the GROWING pandemic... in short, if you still believe what the JOC is selling, I've got a unicorn to sell you.

The Tokyo Olympics will be about as fun as having sex in a Hazmat suit.

Cancel the games. Too risky.