The flame for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games due to take place in the Japanese city of Tokyo, was lit in Olympia, Greece on Thursday, although its 134-day journey to the New National Stadium could be in danger given the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak that has led to the cancellation of numerous major sporting events across the globe
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2020) The flame for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games due to take place in the Japanese city of Tokyo, was lit in Olympia, Greece on Thursday, although its 134-day journey to the New National Stadium could be in danger given the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak that has led to the cancellation of numerous major sporting events across the globe.
"This ceremony demonstrates once more our commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Nineteen weeks before the Opening Ceremony, we are strengthened in this commitment by the many authorities and sports organisations around the world which are taking so many significant measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said during the ceremony, as quoted in a press release on the committee's official website.
The future of the 32nd edition of the Summer Olympics has been cast into doubt given the ongoing coronavirus disease outbreak that has prompted the cancellation of several events, including the World Figure Skating Championships in the Canadian city of Montreal, and the suspension of the National Basketball Association season in the US, both announced on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a press conference that the World Health Organization's designation of COVID-19 as a global pandemic would not affect the Japanese government's preparations for the Olympic Games, the Kyodo news agency reported.
The 2020 Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place between July 24 and August 9. The Olympic torch will begin an eight-day journey around Greece, before being handed over to the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee on March 19.
As of noon local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, Japanese health authorities have reported 619 cases of COVID-19 in the country. This is in addition to the 696 confirmed cases reported on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked near the port of Yokohama and was placed in quarantine for two weeks this past month.
