With the 2021 Olympic Games just over two weeks away, coronavirus cases in Tokyo have continued to rise at exactly the wrong time.
Once down to approximately 400 new cases per day in mid-June, the Japanese capital is now hitting 600 daily cases, including 593 reported on Tuesday. The seven-day rolling average of infections per day in Tokyo is now at 602.3, well above Stage 4, the worst level, of the government’s four-point scale that measures the pandemic’s severity.
The recent surge has led the Tokyo 2020 Olympic officials to reconsider allowing fans at the Games, having now delayed a ticket lottery until Saturday as the debate as to whether spectators should be allowed to attend escalates.
The rise in cases comes after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga went against the country’s top medical advisor and decided to allow a maximum of 10,000 fans (50 percent capacity) at the Games.
The Japanese government is now reportedly considering keeping the current restrictions in place through the Games after previously declaring they would be eased. If this ends up being the case, it’s difficult to imagine fans being able to attend events.
On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that a third Olympian tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Tokyo. Although it’s not a requirement to compete at the Games, officials have said they expect more than 80 percent of participants to be vaccinated.
It’s barely an Olympics without spectators. We wouldn’t be having this problem if the Olympics were in the US or in almost any other country for that matter
Come in Delta Bravo…we have a problem.
Upvote for games proceed
Downvote for cancelled again
Unless the Delta variant goes full on plague Inc in the next couple of weeks the IOC and Japanese government are 100% all on on hosting the games.
They are now leaning heavily towards no spectators whatsoever…final decision tomorrow.
Well, that’s settled then. The old SwimSwam upvote/downvote Supreme Court has spoken.
I will eat my shoe if the olympics are cancelled again
They haven’t been cancelled since 1944. In 2020, they were postponed.
Don’t think they will, but I hope you’ve got small feet.. just in case.
I can definitely see a lot of upcoming conflicts between the Olympians (from all countries) and the Coronabros in Japan that don’t want them there. I’m glad the US Swim Team is in Hawaii for training camp because Japan isn’t going to be much fun.
You know, after 4 million deaths worldwide, one would think you’d realize how absolutely foolish (my mildest take) you sound going out about “coronabros,” Kind of like saying “HIVbros.”
They will be doing a training camp in Japan too
Between Japan’s blatant irresponsibility, the banning of podium protests and the outdated rule that bans pot, this is the most morally bankrupt olympics ever. Fact is, it’s a bad idea to host the Olympics even when there is no pandemic. Why anyone under the age of 40 would want the Olympics in their country is beyond me. IOC better clean up their act or else millennial liberals will cancel it.
Totally agree foolish idea to run the games
Unfortunately the IOC seem to have the last say over a nations health concerns
More athletes will test positive prior and during the games
Money worth more than life’s, as long as all the IOC committee get paid they deem it fit to see out the games
Wait for the fall out!!
And they are going to spin it as a “beacon of hope” what a load of stinky crap
They should be running the games. The fact that Japan unable to contain the Covid-19 virus with vaccines out is absolutely ridiculous. Additionally since Tokyo is holding the Olympics, you would think that they would be on top of vaccines but that’s not the case. We are over a year into the pandemic and Japan is still having problems with Covid even though they had it “managed” months ago.
Based on that last line, pretty obvious why you think Hitler’s Olympics was less “morally bankrupt.”
*in recent memory* happy now?
600/day is quite low on a per capita basis when you consider their metro area has 60M people.
600 cases a day in a city that big is a speck, a drop in the ocean
Clinically irrelevant
The thing to watch is the rate of change in cases per day, as the disease spreads exponentially. You’d think we’d all understand this over a year into a global pandemic but it would seem not, I guess that’s why we’re still in a pandemic huh.
It’s going to disappear like a miracle, down from 15 cases to zero, as long as we remember to inject our bleach and hydroxychloroquine