© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
Welsh Athletics (WA) has announced the cancellation of their indoor and cross-country national championships. The decision was made due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement by WA, the organization indicated it has scrapped the events that take place in January and February.
The Welsh Government has placed Wales into Alert Level 4 for an unquantified time period due to the severity of the health situation around the country.
“As published in the Welsh Government’s Coronavirus Control Plan, there will be significant restrictions on the sizes of gatherings and events. At both Alert Level 3 and Alert Level 2 we do not expect to be able to hold events as popular and as well-attended as Welsh Championships within these regulations,” read the statement.
Alongside this, athletes and their coaches sadly face another extended period of no facility access for training throughout Wales. And with no group training permitted, concerns were also raised around athletes’ ability to prepare for a championship-level event. It was therefore with a heavy heart decided by the Track & Field and Road & Cross Country committees, that the Senior and Jjunior Welsh Indoor Championships, and the Welsh Cross Country Championships will not take place in 2021.
Meanwhile, Japan has shut its borders and the city of Tokyo and several nearby prefectures have requested that the federal government declare a state of emergency.
The Games are just six months away. From a January perspective, it appears nigh impossible that the Games will go as scheduled.
According to Kyodo News, Economic Revitalisation Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said, “We agreed that we are in a severe situation that warrants us considering the declaration of a state of emergency.”
Japan is reporting near 1000 daily cases and has shut its borders.
However, to date, Japan has had the 42nd most infections according to Worldometers.com. They have had a total of 240,945 cases with a low 28 deaths per 1M population.
In comparison, there are many countries with over 1000 deaths per million population. The US has a rate of 1,081/1M, Italy is at 1,247/1M, the UK is 1,102/1M, Bulgaria 1,105/1M. Interestingly, China claims just 3/1M. Belgium and San Marino top the globe with 1,691/1M and San Marino 1,737/1M, respectively.
