Opinion: It's far too early to freak out about the coronavirus ruining the Tokyo Olympics

It is far too early to get in a panic over the fate of the Tokyo Olympics.

The coronavirus is not to be taken lightly, with more than 80,000 cases and 2,700 deaths in 40-plus countries. Longtime International Olympic Committee Dick Pound is probably right when he says a decision on the Games would need to be made by late May, and that postponing or moving them aren’t viable options.

But Pound – and let’s make it clear, he was speaking for himself, not the IOC – didn’t say a decision WILL be made. He said that would be the timeframe IF there’s a decision to be made.

That’s an important distinction to make. And we’re a long way from it.

The world would have to be in a full-blown pandemic, the disease still spreading rapidly and unable to be contained, for the Games to be canceled. But consider that we didn’t even know about the coronavirus until two months ago. The reach of the disease is constantly changing, and clinical trials on a possible treatment are underway in China and the United States.

All of which makes it impossible to predict – good or bad – where we’ll be in three weeks, let alone three months.

“Our basic thoughts are that we will go ahead with the Olympic and Paralympic Games as scheduled,” Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee, said Wednesday at a news conference in Japan.

“For the time being, the situation of the coronavirus infection is, admittedly, difficult to predict, but we will take measures such that we’ll have a safe Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The IOC has said repeatedly, and did so again Wednesday, that it is in contact with the World Health Organization. That Tokyo organizers will work with international health officials to “review any countermeasures that may be necessary.”

But panicking, or fretting over what ifs and maybes several months down the road, is pointless. Especially since the IOC has been here before.

Many times.

Four years ago, Zika was supposed to bring about the ruin of the Rio Olympics. Some notable PGA Tour players even used it as an excuse to pull out of the first Games to feature golf since 1904. Not a single case of Zika was reported during the Olympics, by athletes or spectators, according to the WHO.

Fears over an outbreak of H1N1, or the swine flu, amounted to nothing at the Vancouver Games in 2010. Ditto for the bird flu before the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018.

There were worries about terror attacks at the Athens Olympics, and rumors that Black Widow suicide bombers would strike in Sochi. There were suggestions the United States should consider a boycott of Pyeongchang because of tensions with North Korea. The pollution in Beijing was going to make athletes sick.

None of these fears ever came to pass.

This is not meant to diminish the seriousness of the coronavirus, or suggest that the IOC and Tokyo organizers shouldn’t keep a close watch on developments. Japan is wise to cancel or limit sporting events in the near future that could draw big crowds, like Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon, where only elite runners will be allowed.

But a dose of perspective is needed. It was just last week that the WHO wrapped up a two-day review of Games preparations without sounding any alarms.

“Certainly the advice we’ve received externally from the WHO is that there’s no cause for any contingency plans or cancelling the Games or moving the Games,” John Coates, an Australian IOC member who headed the coordination commission for the review, said afterward.

Despite outbreaks of diseases, geopolitical tensions and plans that fell woefully behind schedule, the Olympics have gone off as scheduled since 1948. In the modern era, which dates back to 1896, the only cancellations have been due to world wars.

The Opening Ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics is still five months away. Let's save the chicken-little hysteria until it's actually warranted. 

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.