Suga said the state of emergency would go into effect on Monday and last through Aug. 22. This means the Olympics, opening on July 23 and running through Aug. 8, will be held entirely under emergency measures. The Paralympics open on Aug. 24.
“We will have to consider the option of no spectators,” Marukawa said in opening remarks with the IOC and others as they went into meetings to discuss a ban on fans. The present state of emergency ends Sunday. Tokyo reported 896 new cases on Thursday, up from 673 a week earlier. It’s the 19th straight day that cases have topped the mark set seven days prior. New cases on Wednesday hit 920, the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.
The uptick in infections has also forced the Tokyo city government to pull the Olympic torch relay off capital streets, allowing it to run only on remote islands off the Tokyo coast. It’s unclear how the torch will enter the stadium for the opening ceremony. Omi has repeatedly called for a ban on spectators, and has said it’s “abnormal” to hold the Olympics during a pandemic.
TOKYO A HOT ZONE FULL BLOWN! WHY EVEN SEND ATHELETES THERE? DAMN FOOLISH!!!
I wonder whether the athletes will feel like stage actors performing to an empty house. There's an electricity spectators bring to an event that charges the atmosphere, and I just hope this year's Olympians won't be affected by this.