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By Sakura Murakami
TOKYO (Reuters) -With just nine weeks until the start of the
Olympics in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on
Friday sought to calm fears in Japan that the Games would
present an additional burden to a medical system already
strained by the pandemic.
Rounding off a three-day meeting to discuss Olympic preparations
and coronavirus countermeasures, officials said more than 80% of
residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated ahead of
July 23, when the Olympics start.
The global sporting event, which was postponed by a year due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, faces mounting opposition from the
public, and in a Reuters company survey released on Friday
nearly 70% of respondents said they wanted a cancellation or
further postponement.
"I can say it's now clearer than ever that these Games would be
safe for everyone participating and, importantly, safe for the
people of Japan," International Olympic committee (IOC) Vice
President John Coates, who is in charge of preparations, said at
the end of the meeting.
He added that additional medical personnel would be part of the
foreign Olympic delegations to support the medical operations
and the implementation of the COVID-19 countermeasures at the
Games.
Organisers are also making arrangements to halve the number of
people coming to Japan as part of foreign Olympic delegations,
broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday.
Some 94,000 people are expected to make their way to Japan for
the Games, down from an initial estimate of 200,000 NHK said
citing unnamed government sources. [L2N2N70DW]
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Kim Coghill/Peter
Rutherford/Toby Davis)
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