Coronavirus spread may cancel the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Coronavirus is spreading across the world and having a major impact on the economy and the film industry. The Associated Press reports, the growing list of cancellations over features of the virus may soon affect the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, according to a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The former champion swimmer and senior IOC member Dick Pound warned if the IOC fears holding the Olympics in Japan will be to high, then “you're probably looking at a cancellation,” he told AP. Moreover, delaying the event isn't really possible. “You just don't postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics,” Pound explained. “There's so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons. … You can't just say, `We'll do it in October.'”
The IOC will wait for judgment form the United Nations' World Health Organization to make a decision, and he encourages athletes to continue training. “As far as we all know, you're going to be in Tokyo,” said Pound. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
The contemporary Olympic games, which date back to 1896, have only ever been canceled once. Coincidentally, Japan was to be the hosting nation in 1940, the year the Olympics was canceled due to the country's war with China and World War II. In 2016, the Olympics were held in Rio, Brazil, despite an outbreak of the Zika virus.
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