Tokyo Olympics – IOC Executive Board meeting: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) will meet remotely today by videoconference and will discuss status of Tokyo Olympic Games. Concerns have lingered over the Olympic and Paralympic Games amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks in Japan, which led to the country introducing tougher restrictions to combat the spread of the virus. The IOC Executive Board will discuss all these concerns and take status report from the organizing committee headed by John Coates.
Tokyo Olympics – IOC Executive Board meeting: Agenda of the Meeting
An online petition calling for the cancellation of the Games has garnered more 300,000 signatures online since being established last week, while Tokyo is under a state of emergency until at least the end of the month. The EB is scheduled to receive updates on the activities of the IOC administration, as well as reports from the Organising Committee for the upcoming Olympic Games.
– Tokyo 2020 will be among the topics for a short IOC Executive Board meeting tomorrow.
– Report by the Organising Committee and by the Chair of the Coordination Commission, Mr Coates
– The agenda will also include discussion on the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS).
– The first edition of the series was announced last month.Five sports will be part of the inaugural OVS – baseball, cycling, rowing, sailing and motorsport – and it will run from Thursday (May 13) until June 23, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Cycling and rowing will be virtual events, while baseball, sailing and motorsport will be esports events.
– Olympic Agenda 2020+5 will also feature, with discussions expected on the topics of sustainability and legacy, gender equality and inclusion, as well as safe sport.
Tokyo Olympics – Covid-19 Cases increasing in Japan amid extended emergency
Meanwhile Covid-19 cases and deaths are increasing by the day in Japan. Osaka had 974 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday while Tokyo had 925. At one Osaka nursing home, 61 residents were infected and 14 died while waiting to be hospitalised, public broadcaster NHK reported last Friday. The government aims to bring infections under control with new restrictions and extended a state of emergency for much of the country late last week, a little more than two months before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.
The extended emergency covers Tokyo, Osaka, and four other prefectures and will last until May 31.
The Games were postponed by a year as the coronavirus spread around the world last year and organisers are pressing ahead with plans to hold the sporting showpiece from July 23 despite mounting public opposition.
Tennis player Kei Nishikori joined compatriot Naomi Osaka in expressing concern about the Olympic schedule, saying he feared an outbreak in the Athletes’ Village.
Some prefecture governors called for stronger emergency measures nationwide at an online meeting on Monday, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Japan lags most wealthy countries in its vaccination campaign. Just 2.6% of the population has been inoculated, according to a Reuters tracker, and there are reports that people are finding it difficult to book shots.