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A medical organisation made up of 6,000 doctors in Tokyo requested that the Tokyo Olympic Games be cancelled.
Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association wrote an open letter to the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, on Monday saying that hospitals in the city have “almost no spare capacity” as COVID-19 infections continue to mount across the country.
A resurgent pandemic forced Japan to declare a coronavirus state of emergency for Tokyo that will run throughout the event.
According to the global tracking website Japan remains as 333rd most infected nation in the world with 811,712 cases total, a far cry from the U.S.A.’s near 35-million. Although the country has had a small spike of 2,913 this week. Some countries like Indonesia 38,391 or Iran with 23,391 are currently experiencing relatively much bigger spikes.
According to Reuters, it was an expected measure to limit the spread of the virus.
“It is regrettable that we are delivering the Games in a very limited format, facing the spread of coronavirus infections,” Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said following talks between government officials, Tokyo organisers and Olympic and paralympic representatives.
“I am sorry to those who purchased tickets and everyone in local areas.” read more