© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has delayed his arrival in Tokyo as a growing number of Japanese citizens polled indicate that they do not want the Olympic Games to go forward this summer.
Japan continues its State of Emergency due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper conducted a poll which indicates that 59 per cent of respondents do not want the Games to happen. The IOC has indicated that cancelling is not an option. Apparently, the cost of cancellation will be too expensive.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga supports the Games, but supports the health of Japan’s citizens over the Games.
According to World0meters.com, Japan has had the 37th most cases of COVID-19 at 645,817 and has one of the lowest infection rates per capita at 5,120 per 1-million people. The U.S. continues to lead the way with 33,515,804, which is 10 per cent of the population. India continues to experience a surge with between 100,000 and 350,000 new cases daily, however, are still back of the U.S. with 23,126,534 total cases, yet have approximately four times the population.
Meanwhile, during a FINA Tokyo Olympic diving test event on Thursday, May 6, one COVID-19 positive test was found. The event was otherwise considered highly successful. Also, the Ukraine team was not permitted to compete at a Throwing Cup event in Croatia over the weekend as athlete Alexander Ivanenko, tested positive despite the fact that all the party had tested negative before departure.
The Romanian team was prevented from competing on the second day after one of their members, tested positive on Saturday.
