Olympics Might Only Be Canceled If Pandemic Not Over by 2021

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics might only be canceled if the coronavirus pandemic is not over by the rescheduled date in 2021, the head of the organization said on Tuesday.

On March 30, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was postponed for a year to be held between the dates of July 23 and Aug. 8, 2021.

A further postponement would be impossible, Tokyo 2020 Olympics President Yoshiro Mori said in an interview with Japan’s Nikkan Sports daily.

According to Mori, the Tokyo Olympics could not be delayed again even until 2022.

If the coronavirus pandemic remains a threat by next year, the Tokyo Olympics would be canceled, he said.

Without a vaccine against the new coronavirus, it would be difficult to host even the postponed Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2021, Japan Medical Association President Yoshitake Yokokura also told reporters in a video press briefing on Tuesday.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has spread to 185 countries and regions since emerging in China last December, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas in the world.

More than three million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll near almost 215,000 with more than 920,000 recoveries, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University in the US.

Japan reported 385 deaths from the virus with 13,614 cases, and 1,899 recoveries. (AA)