Having announced a state of emergency on Thursday to combat the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the Japanese government has also announced that no spectators will be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics. A decision regarding spectators at the Paralympics will be made after the Olympics.
“The state of emergency in Tokyo is being implemented as a measure aimed at suppressing the flow of people in order to prevent the spread of infection now, because the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases remains high and the number of people infected with variant COVID-19 strains in Tokyo is increasing,” officials said in a joint statement from the national and metropolitan governments, the organising committee and International Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
The statement goes on to explain the decision to ban spectators at all Tokyo venues: “In response to the state of emergency, stricter measures with regard to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 have also been decided by the three Japanese parties. No spectators will be allowed into any venues in Tokyo during the Olympic Games. The IOC and IPC, respecting this decision, support it in the interest of safe and secure Games for everybody. At the same time, all five parties deeply regret for the athletes and for the spectators that this measure had to be put in place for the reasons outlined above.”
Earlier this year, a decision was made to ban foreign spectators from attending the Tokyo Olympics, and more recently a limit of two support persons was placed on competitors. Limits have also been placed on media with officials advising decisions will be made each day regarding which reporters and photographers will be able to cover events that day.
The Tokyo Olympics will take place from the 23rd of July to the 8th of August.
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