Ban on spectators likely as Japan PM announces state of emergency for Tokyo ahead of Olympics

IOC President Thomas Bach arrived in Tokyo on Thursday just as a ban on spectators at the Tokyo Olympics is likely after Japan Prime Minister Yoshihde Suga announced a state of emergency because of rising coronavirus infections in the capitalSuga said the state of emergency would go in effect on Monday and last through August 22 This means the Olympics opening on July 23 and running through August 8 will be held entirely under emergency measuresSuga said the state of emergency was needed to ldquoprevent the resurgence of the future spread on cases across the countryrdquoBach largely avoided cameras at Tokyos Haneda Airport and on a rainy afternoon went to the International Olympic Committees games headquarters in Tokyo a fivestar hotel in the center of the city He is reported to need to selfisolate for three daysBachs arrival comes just two weeks before the postponed Tokyo Games are to open The IOC and local organizers are attempting to hold the games during a pandemic despite opposition from the Japanese public and medical communityThe main focus of the emergency is a request for bars restaurants and karaoke parlors serving alcohol to close A ban on serving alcohol is a key step to tone down Olympicrelated festivities and keep people from drinking and partying Tokyo residents are expected to face stayhome requests and watch the games on TV from homeldquoHow to stop people enjoying the Olympics from going out for drinks is a main issuerdquo Health Minister Norihisa Tamura saidThe present state of emergency ends Sunday Tokyo reported 920 new cases on Wednesday up from 714 a week earlier It was the 18th straight day of weekonweek increases and was the highest total since 1010 were reported on May 13Also Read Tokyo reports 920 new cases highest since MayFans from abroad were months ago banned from attending the Olympics But just two weeks ago organizers and the IOC decided to allow venues to be filled to 50 per cent of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10000 The stateofemergency will force them to change plans again with a decision probably coming later on ThursdayThe soaring cases are likely to mean that venues will be without any spectators although sponsors and others may have access The nofan atmosphere could include the opening ceremony at the USD 14 billion National StadiumThe uptick in infections has also forced the Tokyo city government to pull the Olympic torch relay off capital streets allowing it to run only on remote islands off the Tokyo coast Its unclear how the torch will enter the stadium for the opening ceremonyldquoThe infections are in their expansion phase and everyone in this country must firmly understand the seriousness of itrdquo Dr Shigeru Omi a top government medical adviser saidHe urged authorities to quickly take tough measures ahead of the Olympics with summer vacations approachingOmi has repeatedly called for a ban on spectators and has said its abnormal to hold the Olympics during a pandemicSeparately a government Covid19 advisory panel met Wednesday and expressed concerns about the ongoing resurgence of the infectionsldquoTwothirds of the infections in the capital region are from Tokyo and our concern is the spread of the infections to neighboring areasrdquo said Ryuji Wakita directorgeneral of the National Institute of Infectious DiseasesThe Olympics are pushing ahead against most medical advice partially because the postponement stalled the IOCs income flow It gets almost 7537 of its income from selling broadcast rights and estimates suggest it would lose 3 billion to 4 billion if the Olympics were canceledAbout 11000 Olympians and 4400 Paralympians are expected to enter Japan with tens of thousands of officials judges administrators sponsors broadcasters and media also entering The IOC says more than 8037 of resident of the Olympic Village will be vaccinatedNationwide Japan has had about 810000 cases and nearly 14900 deaths Only 15 per cent of Japanese are fully vaccinated still low compared with 47437 in the United States and almost 50 per cent in BritainThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever