Olympics Ban Spectators Over Fear of COVID, Athletes to Compete in Front of Empty Stands
Competitors at the Tokyo Olympics this year will have to compete without spectators in the stands to cheer them on, according to a Thursday announcement from event organizers.
In June, organizers banned international spectators from attending the games. But due to recent concerns over a wave of COVID-19 infections that forced Japan to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo, Japanese fans will no longer be allowed to attend, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, The Japan Times reported based on statements from officials familiar with the situation that the country was considering a 5,000-person cap on spectators before deciding on Thursday no spectators would be allowed to observe athletes compete.
Previously, the policy allowed venues to operate with up to 50 percent capacity, The Times reported.
There was also to be a cap of 10,000 people, according to the outlet, with a ticket lottery reportedly held to hand out seats at the games.
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday a state of emergency will go into effect in the Tokyo area starting Monday until Aug. 22, according to The Times.
“New cases in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area have been rising since June,” Suga said. “Stronger measures have become necessary in those areas, but could be lifted early if we see evidence of the positive impact of the vaccine rollout.”
Tokyo’s Olympic Committee President Seiko Hashimoto told reporters a “very heavy judgement was made” with barring spectators, according to CNN.
Due to the pandemic, Japan has “no choice but to hold the Games in a limited way,” Hashimoto said.
“I am very sorry for ticket holders and local residents who were looking forward to the games,” she said, according to The Japan Times.
“There’s a race between the vaccination of the public and the spread of the Delta variant,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister heading the country’s counter-COVID operations, said Thursday, according to the outlet.
“Until the vaccine rollout makes further progress, it’s crucial that foot traffic is kept low leading up to summer break and the Bon holidays.”
We’re closer than ever to declaring our independence from COVID-19, but the fight is not over yet. Powerful strains like the Delta variant have emerged.
The best defense against these deadly variants is simple: get vaccinated.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 6, 2021
The Delta variant is a recently emerging variant of the COVID-19 virus with the ability to “evade antibodies that target certain parts of the virus,” according to The New York Times.
Now reportedly the dominant COVID-19 strain in the United States, the Delta variant was first found in India.
According to The New York Times, the Delta variant is “60 percent more contagious” than the Alpha variant that swept through Europe earlier in 2021.
It is “perhaps twice as contagious” as the initial COVID-19 variant, the outlet reported.
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