MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2021) The Tokyo Organizing Committee on Thursday published a guidance for spectators of the upcoming Olympic torch relay, which bans cheering and crowding over coronavirus concerns.
The delayed relay will begin in the Fukushima prefecture on March 25 and conclude in the Olympic host city of Tokyo on July 23. The Games were postponed by a year due to the pandemic.
The new rules condition an unusually somber event. Spectators will be allowed to line the relay route as long as they maintain a safe distance, wear masks and refrain from shouting.
"Roadside spectators will be advised... to observe infection countermeasures such as avoiding crowding along the roadside, not watching the relay from the roadside if they feel unwell, wearing masks, and not shouting or cheering," the guidelines read.
The committee said whole sections of the relay might be scrapped if anti-coronavirus measures are toughened at the locations through which the flame passes.
Admission to torch lighting ceremonies at the end of each segment will require booking and may be held without guests depending on the COVID-19 status in a given prefecture.
