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© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Q&A: Things to know about Tokyo Olympics and spreading virus
By STEPHEN WADE TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
11 Comments
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robert maes
There is no major hurdle to move the Games to july, even sept 2021.
if not, many top athletes and teams will be no shows, and forget about hotels and airlines fully booked, that is not even the case if no virus problem.
broadcasters can reschedule if they know latest end of March, athletes can adjust, extra costs are minimal IF good management is brought in.
but postponing a few months that is impossible just as moving the games to another city.
I was the first to say it and sat it here again, the games must and will be postponed
Dr. Theopolis
If things continue the way they are and the number if people infected keeps increasing, no athlete in their right mind will want to risk exposure.
The Olympics is history, and good riddance too.
Fighto!
It would have been a fabulous Games, possibly best ever. But the odds are Tokyo 2020 will now not go ahead. It is simply too dangerous with 10 million people, from every nation, gathering in a small part of Tokyo. There is no point cancelling in June, too late. The IOC should announce the cancellation this week.
Plans should commence now for Tokyo 2021 .
Bugle Boy of Company B
Maybe they should do the same thing they did with the marathon: have everyone compete on their own and report their results. (rolls eyes)
Meiyouwenti
If the Olympics were to be canceled, it would be a terrible blow to the Japanese government, companies that paid millions for sponsorship as well as hotels and other accommodations counting on foreign visitors. But since billions of dollars worth of broadcasting rights are at stake, cancellation or postponement is unlikely. They’ll most likely settle on a change of venue.
sf2k
those paying tourists are already cancelling or thinking of doing so. There might not be enough time to reconcile all three nations for the gathering, China, SK, Japan will all still be in the throes of this virus well into April. There's not going to be a fast turnaround to accept tourists from those countries when they might not feel like travelling or being quarantined.
Japan will have to offer huge discounts at a financial loss as well.
What if the torch bearers get sick? Who has time to practise? What if the volunteers don't show up? Or the stands are empty on refunds?
Cut your losses, save money. Have a do-over or try in October
At this rate they'll be a typhoon during Opening Ceremonies. Time to take a hint
quercetum
The bureaucrats have shown the inability to make swift decisions. 72 hours passed from the time that an infected person had been on aboard was first reported, before they made a decision to quarantine the ship. That’s 3 days of no quarantine and pure incubation plus another 14 days of botched quarantine and incubation.
And then when it was all done, they were let out without further quarantine even when they knew the quarantine had been questionable.
Not everyone on board was tested. Some who were untested also were let out.
Snow
Why not just postpone everything by one year? Olympics in 2021 then again in 2024.
runner3
I'm sure 90% of the Japanese people would want the game's put off for one year just to be safe. Do it"now" it makes no sense to wait any longer.
Strangerland
Yes it does. If this virus is contained or burns itself out by summer, the games can go on without troubles, and canceling them now would be premature.
And yes, this can still be contained.
garymalmgren
Question. What will happen to the games?
Answer. Nobody knows , so why bother speculating at this stage.
“I'm not sure of the situation at the end of July,” Dr Hitoshi Oshitani said. He said it would be “difficult to have the Olympics (now).” Other scientists have said they can not forecast what the situation will be in five months.
Gary