Breaking: Tokyo Olympic Games Holds Friday, 23 July to Sunday, 8 August 2021

The Japanese government is also mulling a “pledge” signed by athletes promising to limit their activities to the stadium and Olympic Village.

The Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced that the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games next summer must go on as planned but admitted that there will be a need to do a review of coronavirus countermeasures before the end of this year. 

It will be recalled that the games were postponed sine die creating worries among major stakeholders and athletes worldwide. Amongst the most affected by the postponement were tourism and hospitality businesses with heavy investment in preparation for the games.

However, a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has reached a formal agreement with the IOC that the games should commence from Friday, 23 July 2021 and ends on Sunday, 8 August

A report quoting the Diplomat said among the waiver the government is considering are allowing athletes to enter Japan without a 14-day self-quarantine period, in favour of testing at the point of entry in Japan and at stadium locations, as well the requirement for a negative test result three days prior to departure. The Japanese government is also mulling a “pledge” signed by athletes promising to limit their activities to the stadium and Olympic Village. The pledge consists of a prearranged itinerary outlining destinations and modes of transport. Failure to abide by the rules may end in eviction from the Village.

Japan Olympic Village has served as a central hub for athletes, team staff and official representatives to gather, offering shared facilities such as cafeterias and medical centres. With more than 11,000 athletes from 206 countries, the Olympic Village will be a base for some 30,000 people with 18,000 beds allocated for members of each nation’s national Olympic committee. Preventing an outbreak of coronavirus clusters in the Olympic Village is, therefore, a major issue, and organizers are weighing a proposal to house athletes in hotels to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between athletes.

©Pegasus Reporters

All correspondences, typed and double-spaced should be sent to the Editor, at pegasusreporters@gmail.com. Follow us on @pegasusreport on Twitter and on Facebook The Pegasus Report. Join our mailing list on Telegram (+234 8133088344) and on WhatsApp (+234 8154445334).