The World Health organization (WHO) is working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee amid the coronavirus outbreak, but no decision is likely to be taken on the games in the near future, WHO Emergencies Program Executive Director Michael Ryan said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) The World Health organization (WHO) is working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee amid the coronavirus outbreak, but no decision is likely to be taken on the games in the near future, WHO Emergencies Program Executive Director Michael Ryan said on Thursday.
IOC member Dick Pound told Associated Press earlier this week that if the committee decided that the Summer games could not proceed, "you're probably looking at a cancellation." Meanwhile, the IOC pres service told Sputnik on Wednesday that the preparations were ongoing, as planned.
"With regard to the Olympics, we are working extremely closely with the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and are providing them with risk assessment and risk management advice. In my understanding, no decision has or will be taken in the near time regarding the future of the Olympics," Ryan told a daily press briefing.
The WHO official stressed that there is need for a risk-management approach to organizing all kinds of mass gatherings. He added that there was no specific deadline for making any decision on whether to hold the Olympic Games in Japan.
"I think, at this point, everyone is monitoring the situation. I think that the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the Japanese government are taking the situation very seriously, so does the IOC. And, again, we will be working together to try to preserve what is a fantastic and important global event," Ryan said.
