The Asahi daily declared on Thursday that spectators will be banned from the Olympic Games as Japan is preparing to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo in the light of a new wave of coronavirus infection. Organisers were set to reach a decision during a five-way talks between key parties on Thursday.
This another major blow to the sporting event which has already been delayed by a year due to the global pandemic and other major setbacks, budget overruns included. Health expects have been insisting for weeks that having no spectators would be the best option as the influx of thousands of athletes has the potential of setting a new wave of infections.
Yuki Furuse, a Kyoto University professor working with the government’s coronavirus experts group, said, “I, of course, support ‘no spectators’ but concerns will never disappear as long as we have a big event, like the Games, along with the holidays and the vacation season.” He recently predicted that new daily cases will increase from 1000 to 2000 in August increasing the risk of hospitals running out of space for accommodation in the capital.
The Organisers have already banned overseas spectators and are already setting a cap on domestic viewers at 50% capacity.
