The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics go ahead despite the advance of the global pandemic of coronavirus, with the argument that there are still four months left for the big sporting event and they shouldn't be taken yet "Drastic decisions". Anyway, they communicated that they will do a "Constant evaluation" outbreak COVID-19.
The agency stated in its brief that "encourages all athletes to continue preparing for Tokyo as best they can ” after holding a virtual meeting led by the president Thomas Bach in which the representatives of the national Olympic committees participated to analyze the current crisis.
The IOC admitted that the current situation "Is unprecedented in the world", acknowledged that it is impacting the preparations for Tokyo and that is changing "day by day", also expressing its solidarity "With societies that are doing everything possible to contain the virus".
"The health and well-being of all those involved in the Tokyo 2020 preparations are our main concern, and every possible measure is being taken to protect athletes, coaches and support teams.", he pointed Bach in the statement.
The organization stressed that it will monitor the situation every day, with the team of experts trained for this purpose by the IOC itself, the World Health Organization (WHO), the organizing committee of Tokyo 2020 and the Japanese authorities.
According to the agency, 57% of athletes participating in Tokyo have already passed the classification tests, and for the remaining 43% work with the international federations of the affected sports to analyze possible changes in qualifying tournaments. There is the possibility of increasing the athlete invitation system in sports whose classifications are affected by quarantines and containment measures against COVID-19although he stressed that it would be "Under exceptional circumstances" and analyzing case by case.
(With information from EFE)