Covid-19 | Tokyo Games will go ahead even if there’s a state of emergency: IOC VP Coates

He is confident that the measures taken will ensure a safe and secure Olympics

The IOC vice-president in charge of the postponed Tokyo Olympics said on Friday that the Games would open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan were under a state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 cases. John Coates, speaking from Australia in a virtual news conference with Tokyo organisers at the end of three days of meetings, said this would be the case even if local medical experts advised against holding the Olympics. “The advice we have from the WHO (World Health Organisation) and all other scientific and medical communities is that all the measures we have outlined, all those measures we are undertaking are satisfactory and will ensure a safe and secure games in terms of health,” Coates said.