|
The 121-day relay, set to touch Osaka in
mid-April, is seen as the first major test of Games organisers'
ability to hold a large event under strict coronavirus curbs. It
features 10,000 runners carrying the torch through 47
prefectures.
"We can't have the Olympic torch relay take place on the public
roads of Osaka city," Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told
reporters, adding that the talks with organisers would be held
on Friday evening.
"I'd like to discuss with the Tokyo 2020 organising committee
whether there might be something we could do in place of the
relay."
The organisers require roadside spectators to wear masks,
observe social distancing and avoid cheering to limit spread of
the virus, although there have been no reports of infections
arising from the relay.
Osaka city is the capital of one of Japan's biggest prefectures,
which has a population of nearly 9 million people, and is
grappling with a jump in infections surpassing those in the
bigger city of Tokyo, the capital.
A two-month high of more than 600 new cases reported on
Thursday, prompted the prefecture to adopt new emergency
measures, such as shorter business hours and requests for people
to work from home, which will run until May 5.
The Olympics, delayed by a year because of the pandemic, are set
to run from July 23 to Aug. 8 and the Paralympics from Aug. 24
to Sept. 5.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
