Author Name: Carribean Channel, Cuba TV.
This story was originally published on canalcaribe.ict.cu. [1]

Can Tokyo 2020 be a victim of Coronavirus?
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are scheduled to start on July 24, although the threat of suspension due to the global spread of the coronavirus begins to sound more intensely. In mid-February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that it had not considered moving the venue or canceling the most anticipated sporting event of the year by referring to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In recent hours, however, the health agency has raised the alert level after sudden outbreaks in Italy, Iran and South Korea.The “potential pandemic” worries WHO about the appearance of covid-19 cases without a clear link with China.

At the same time, he asks world leaders to act immediately to avoid a serious health crisis. “I think there is still an opportunity, but time is running out, so we ask the international community to act quickly, including in financing issues.

It is not what we are seeing, ”says Tedros Adhanom, president of WHO.Coronavirus: IOC gives three months to decide on Tokyo Dick Pound, the most veteran member of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), estimates that there is a three-month period to decide the future of the Tokyo Olympic Games, scheduled from July 24 to August 9, depending on how the coronavirus This has been recognized in an exclusive interview with the AP (Associated Press) agency in which, although he did not want to be an alarmist, he recognized the risks that exist.

The Canadian, who has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1978 – 13 years older than the current President Thomas Bach -, described the uncertainty as a major problem and repeated that the position of the IOC will depend on consultations with the World Organization of the Health (WHO) before making any decision. For now, the Games are still running.”It’s a great, big decision and you can’t make it until you have reliable data to base it on,” said Pound, who acknowledged that with the information they have so far nobody “asks for the cancellation or postponement of the Games.”

«It is not simply postponed, something of the size and the poisoning of the Games. There are so many parties involved, so many countries and different competitive seasons and television… You cannot simply say: ‘We will do it in October,” he acknowledged.

“You could certainly go two months if you had to,” said Pound, which would mean postponing a decision until the end of May and expecting the virus to be under control. «Many things have to start being done. You have to start increasing security, food, the Olympic village, hotels, the media will be building their studios, ”he explained.

And if you get to the point of not moving forward because of the expansion of the coronavirus, Pound acknowledged that “there was probably a cancellation.”

(C) Cuba TV, Cuban state owned media.
[1] Url: https://www.canalcaribe.icrt.cu/en/can-tokyo-2020-be-a-victim-of-coronavirus/