Scrapping Tokyo Games was never an option: IOC chief

DPA Tokyo Cancelling the Tokyo Games in light of the coronavirus pandemic was “never really an option,” Olympic chief Thomas Bach said on Wednesday – as in...

DPATokyoCancelling the Tokyo Games in light of the coronavirus pandemic was “never really an option,” Olympic chief Thomas Bach said on Wednesday – as infection numbers continued to rise in the Japanese capital.The 2020 Games were postponed from last year but International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Bach told international media there was no question of them not going ahead now.“The IOC wouldn’t let down the athletes,” he said although cancelling the Games and claiming insurance money would have been “the simplest possiblity,” a year ago.Instead Bach said the IOC invested more so they could go ahead. “If we could have the Games safely, then we wanted to have them,” the 67-year-old said. “This principle has guided us until today.“We can confidently say that we have minimized he risk for the Games.” Bach admitted the Games, held with tight hygiene concepts “would and must” be different. The regulations for the Olympics would be the “strictest” of any sporting event.The Olympics opens on July 23 but days before the opening ceremony local media reported the number of new coronavirus infections has risen above 1,000.On Wednesday, Tokyo registered 1,149 new cases in the space of a day - exceeding the 1,000-mark for the first time in about two months.The increase comes despite Tokyo being placed under its fourth state of emergency at the start of the week.For the last 25 days, the new infection rate has climbed continuously compared to the same day the week before.Local organizers meanwhile informed the IOC that of over 8,000 people involved in the Games who travelled to Japan July 1-13, three had tested positive for the coronavirus.They were “immediately isolated, while the close contacts have been subject to the relevant quarantine measures,” the IOC said.The Refugee Team, preparing for the Games in Qatar, had an official test positive for the coronavirus and will delay their departure to Japan as a result, the IOC said.Many Japanese fear that it will become a super-spreader event amid local opposition to the Games.A majority of the population has always been in favour of further postponing the event again - something long dismissed by organizers as unfeasible - or cancelling the Games entirely.Nonetheless, Japan and the IOC have stuck to their plans.“I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to the Government and the people of Japan for welcoming us,” Bach said after a meeting with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.“The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee has done a fantastic job in preparing for these Games and to make Tokyo the best-prepared Olympic city ever.” Bach had previously assured that Japan “need not be concerned about safety” and on Wednesday said “Eighty-five per cent of the athletes and officials who will live in the Olympic Village, and almost 100 per cent of the IOC Members and IOC staff, are either vaccinated or immune.“The percentage of vaccinated international media representatives is between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.“These Games will be followed by billions of people around the globe.They will admire what the Japanese people have achieved under these difficult circumstances.” To prevent the spread of the virus, spectators will be excluded from virtually all events.