Olympics will be safe for all: Bach

LAUSANNE • Olympic chief Thomas Bach has told athletes they should travel to Tokyo with "full confidence" that the delayed 2020 Games will be safe for competitors and not jeopardise the health of the Japanese people.

Speaking in a Q&A session during an online conference of the Athletes' Commission on Thursday, the International Olympic Committee president insisted the safety of athletes was at the heart of planning for the July 23-Aug 8 Games.

"Tokyo is the best prepared Olympic city ever and this relates particularly to the focus they are putting on the athletes and the athletes' experience," the 67-year-old German told around 2,000 athletes and Olympic officials from Lausanne.

"Because of the (Covid-19) pandemic, we all know, unfortunately, the athletes' experience will be very different.

"But what is important is the competitions can and will take place in a safe way and in full respect of the athletes.

"This should give all of us a lot of confidence that it's really about the athletes and about making the athletes feel comfortable and making the Japanese people feel comfortable.

"Come with full confidence to Tokyo and get ready."

However, the pandemic is showing no signs of easing in Japan less than two months before the Games.

The Japanese government yesterday said it would look to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other major metropolitan areas by about three weeks to June 20.

"In Osaka and Tokyo, the flow of people is starting to creep up, and there are concerns that infections will rise," added Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who also heads the country's Covid-19 countermeasures.

Concerns in Japan about mutant variants and a slow vaccination drive have prompted urgent calls from doctors and high-profile business leaders to axe the Olympic Games, while opinion polls dating back to last year have consistently shown a negative public sentiment.

But MP Hajime Funada of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party yesterday told Reuters cancellation would represent a loss of face, adding: "The demerits would outweigh the merits. It would give the impression Japan is in such dire straits it cannot hold the Games."

The IOC hopes to ease the burden on the local healthcare system by setting a vaccination target of 80 per cent of the 10,500 athletes expected in Japan.

On Thursday, Bach again urged Olympians to get their shots if they could, saying: "Take the opportunity whenever it arises to get vaccinated because this will increase the safety there for everybody, for yourself, for all your fellow athletes and for the Japanese people.

"I got my two shots and I'm still in good shape."

After a meeting with Japanese officials on Thursday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also backed Tokyo's hosting of the Olympics.

She said the European Union had authorised the export to Japan of more than 100 million vaccine doses, enough to inoculate about 40 per cent of the population.

REUTERS