Will the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games be cancelled?

[Quaker2001 251]

  On 5/19/2021 at 1:17 PM, rafalgorka said:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210519_19/

 

"Japan's prime minister says he believes that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics can be held in a safe manner by implementing thorough anti-virus measures.

Suga Yoshihide made the remarks at an Upper House plenary session on Wednesday..."

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He's right.  The threat of the Olympics becoming a super-spreader event I think is relatively low.  The question is how are those safety measures in a country where the number of daily cases went way down from January to March and then has been steadily climbing ever since.

[Orangehair43 254]

 

[Dragon 1,893]

 

[Orangehair43 254]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57173959
 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) "must urgently guarantee world-class Covid-19 protections" if this year's Games are to be held safely, the World Players Association (WPA) says.

IOC protocols "lack the same rigour and resources" seen in professional team sports, says the WPA, which represents athletes globally.

[Triplecast 156]

  On 5/19/2021 at 3:28 PM, Orangehair43 said:

 

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That poll supposedly said 43% cancel, 40% postpone.  So, I see two things here, 53% are in favor of the Games being held, but most just don't want them this year.  But second, these polls should stop asking do you want the Games postponed, as I think most of us here believe IOC, TOCOG, and JPN Gov when they say further postponement is not an option.  That said, I know other polls, when the question is its just a straight cancel or hold show 60% cancel.  But this poll suits the media's McGaffrey's need when they can just scream 83% of Japanese don't want to hold the Olympics, without his bothering to break down the numbers. 

[phelps 7,797]

  On 5/19/2021 at 2:49 PM, Quaker2001 said:

He's right.  The threat of the Olympics becoming a super-spreader event I think is relatively low.  The question is how are those safety measures in a country where the number of daily cases went way down from January to March and then has been steadily climbing ever since.

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if they were honest with themselves, they would see how the increase of covid cases has started when their Baseball season started...

 

they should stop allowing spectators to go to the baseball games, rather than saying all those bullshit on the Olympics as a super-spreading event, when also the kids and the goats know that the athletes would be closed into a bubble without any sort of interaction with the local people and almost all of them would be vaccinated before travelling to Japan... 

[Triplecast 156]

  On 5/19/2021 at 7:22 PM, phelps said:

if they were honest with themselves, they would see how the increase of covid cases has started when their Baseball season started...

 

they should stop allowing spectators to go to the baseball games, rather than saying all those bullshit on the Olympics as a super-spreading event, when also the kids and the goats know that the athletes would be closed into a bubble without any sort of interaction with the local people and almost all of them would be vaccinated before travelling to Japan... 

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This story, described as a fair and balanced look, talks about the same thing you mention, the 

Village may be one of the safest places in Japan.

 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Tokyo-2020-Olympics/Pros-and-cons-of-holding-the-Tokyo-Olympics-during-a-pandemic

 

 

[Quaker2001 251]

  On 5/19/2021 at 7:22 PM, phelps said:

if they were honest with themselves, they would see how the increase of covid cases has started when their Baseball season started...

 

they should stop allowing spectators to go to the baseball games, rather than saying all those bullshit on the Olympics as a super-spreading event, when also the kids and the goats know that the athletes would be closed into a bubble without any sort of interaction with the local people and almost all of them would be vaccinated before travelling to Japan... 

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That's the graph with the start of NPB season.  I've made that same point a bunch of times on Twitter.  Clearly "playing sports" isn't a deal-breaker for Japan, so if they can play NPB through the worst part of this pandemic, why not Olympic baseball?

 

If health and safety protocols are followed - and yes, that's a big if - the Olympics are not a danger as a super-spreader.  How many sports events were played in the United States with more more COVID floating around with zero major hurdles.  Tougher for the Olympics where it's a much tighter schedule, but we're also much deeper into the pandemic than last year's baseball or football season where testing and vaccines are more advanced than they had been.  Even if Japan hasn't quite gotten the memo yet.

[up and down 82]

Alright we have so many sports events cancelled due to the covid or virus. Now everything seems to be hanging in the air with nothing said. Even IOC themselves also dare not confirm this. Will the Tokyo Olympics be cancelled? I think by now the answer is already too obvious. There is no way out of it. Cases are soaring very high in all the various different countries around the whole world. I guess IOC may be left with no other options but to cancel Tokyo Olympics.

 

 

Question here is simple.

 

Athletes life is more important or participating in Tokyo Olympics is more important?

[up and down 82]

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/tokyo-doctors-call-cancellation-olympic-games-due-covid-19-2021-05-18/

Tokyo doctors call for cancellation of Olympic Games due to COVID-19

A top medical organisation has thrown its weight behind calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country battles a spike in coronavirus infections less than three months from the start of the Games.

 

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6,000 primary care doctors said hospitals in the Games host city "have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity" amid a surge in infections.

 

"We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games," the association said in a May 14 open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga which was posted to its website on Monday.

 

A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid a shortage of medical staff and hospital beds in some areas of the Japanese capital, promoting the government to extend a third state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures until May 31.

 

Doctors would soon face the added difficulty of dealing with heat exhaustion patients during the summer months and if the Olympics contributed to a rise in deaths "Japan will bear the maximum responsibility", it added.

 

Other health experts and medical groups have voiced their concerns about the Olympics, while an online petition calling for the Games to be cancelled was signed by hundreds of thousands of people.

 

Overall, Japan has avoided an explosive spread of the virus experienced by other nations, but the government has come under sharp criticism for its sluggish vaccination roll-out.

 

Only about 3.5% of its population of about 126 million has been vaccinated, according to a Reuters tracker.

Underscoring the challenges with the vaccinations, booking systems for mass inoculation sites being launched in Tokyo and Osaka - which started accepting bookings on Monday - were marred by technical glitches.

 

Still, Suga says Japan can host "a safe and secure Olympics" while following appropriate COVID-19 containment measures.

Preparations for the July 23-Aug. 8 Games are progressing under tight COVID-19 protocols, such as an athletics test event featuring 420 athletes in early May.

 

But multiple pre-Olympic training camps, including one for the United States' track and field team have been cancelled, and athletes have voiced concerns about the Games taking place in the midst of a global pandemic.

 

Canadian equastrian athlete and gold medalist Eric Lamaze announced on Monday that he had pulled out of being an Olympic candidate, citing personal health concerns. He has been treated for a brain tumor over the past three years.

 

"My health is something that I take very seriously, and I've decided that Tokyo is not the best venue for me," Lamaze said in the statement.

 

"The Olympics are a celebration of the athletes and I don't think we're going to have a true celebration in Tokyo," he added. "It's not the time to celebrate."

 

The Games have already been postponed once due to the pandemic.

 

With cases surging across much of Asia, the World Economic Forum on Monday cancelled its annual meeting of the global elite due to be held in Singapore in August.

 

Under the state of emergency in parts of Japan, bars, restaurants, karaoke parlours and other places serving alcohol will remain closed, although large commercial facilities can re-open under shorter hours. Hard-hit Tokyo and Osaka will continue to keep these larger facilities closed.

 

The number of COVID-19 cases nationwide dropped to 3,680 on Monday, the lowest level since April 26, according to public broadcaster NHK, but the number of heavy infections hit a record high of 1,235, the health ministry said on Tuesday.