Tokyo governor says 2020 Olympics still on despite coronavirus threat
Despite the outbreak, the International Olympic Committee has urged athletes to continue to prepare for the games.
Workers wearing protective clothes disinfect an interior of a public bus in a bus-wash station at Transport Company of Bratislava city as part of precautionary measures against the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 in Bratislava, Slovakia on March 11, 2020. Picture: VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike says cancelling the 2020 Olympic Games, scheduled from 24 July to 9 August is not an option, although the classification of the coronavirus as a pandemic was likely to have an impact on the event.
Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Koike told the media that she did not think there was an option to cancel the Olympics and Paralympics. She insisted that there had been no change to plans to hold the upcoming games.
Tokyo is set to hold the Olympic Games, this year, although the virus has taken a huge impact on sports across the globe. The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak as a pandemic which has grown at an alarming rate.
Despite the outbreak, the International Olympic Committee has urged athletes to continue to prepare for the games.
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