The organization of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo does not depend on development of a vaccine against the COVID-19 infection, John Coates, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) coordination commission, said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2020) The organization of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo does not depend on development of a vaccine against the COVID-19 infection, John Coates, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) coordination commission, said on Wednesday.
The remark came in response to suggestions from the Japan Medical Association that it would be "difficult" to hold the Olympics without a vaccine for coronavirus. Coates noted that the suggestion of the Japanese health authorities was just an opinion.
"I saw that opinion but the advice we're getting from the World Health Organisation [WHO] says we should continue to plan for this date and that is what we're doing, and that's not contingent on a vaccine. A vaccine would be nice. But we will just continue to be guided, as we must be, by WHO and the Japanese health authorities because in all of this, the health and wellbeing of the athletes and other participants in the Games is the number one priority," Coates said as quoted by The Guardian.
In late March, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing Committee announced the new dates for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics postponed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Olympic Games will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021, and the Paralympic Games from August 24 to September 5, 2021.
