Are the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Going to Be Canceled Because of the Coronavirus?
Jacklyn Krol Published: March 9, 2020
Atsushi Tomura, Getty Images
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will reportedly take place as planned amid the global Coronavirus outbreak.
As of last Wednesday (March 4), over 1,000 cases of the virus had been confirmed in Japan, with 706 of the cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Reuters reports. "Thirty-six new infections, the biggest one-day increase to date, were reported on Wednesday in locations ranging from Kumamoto prefecture in the southwest to Hokkaido in the north," the outlet added.
People have speculated that the outbreak that has been reported in more than 100 nations would cause a cancellation or delay in the games. "I am totally not considering this," the president of the 2020 Olympics, Yoshiro Mori said during a press conference.
If there ends up being a cancellation or delay in the games, Comcast told CNN that insurance will cover the financial fallout, but that they are also "optimistic" that the games will take place as scheduled this year.
"I think it's responsible to be thinking about the elephant in the room, there's no question about it," Dick Pound of the International Olympic Committee board member told CNN of the virus and if it will change the Olympics' dates. "It's alarmist to say the sky is falling and we should bail out of Tokyo. I think you need an informed decision."
The International Olympic Committee said that they will continue to follow the advice from the World Health Organization, who is the leading United Nations agency on this topic, The Guardian reports.
The Olympic torch lighting ceremony, scheduled for Thursday (March 12) in Greece, will be closed to the public due to the outbreak, CNN reports.
The 2020 summer Olympics are set to take place between July 24 and August 9.
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Source: Are the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Going to Be Canceled Because of the Coronavirus?
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