The US State Department has issued a severe Level 4 warning to American citizens: DO NOT TRAVEL to the Tokyo Olympics.
Current Events
The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled to take place during the summer of 2020. However, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the games were rescheduled for July 23rd to August 8th of 2021. At the time, Olympic officials believed the threat of COVID would be nearly non-existent by this summer and that the games could go on without creating a new global threat. However, with just over a month to go before the games are set to begin, ongoing COVID dangers in Japan could cancel the games altogether.
So, what’s going on here?
Japan has experienced a huge increase in Covid-19 cases, which have steadily risen since a national state of emergency was lifted in March. Additionally, the country’s vaccine rollout has been slow due to a shortage of medical professionals and a lack of syringes. In fact, only 2% of Japanese citizens have received at least 1 shot of the vaccine — a figure which makes travel to Japan extremely risky and potentially life-threatening.
Several high-profile medical and professional officials are calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled, saying that playing a game for a medal is not worth the risk of possibly losing a life.
The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association — which is an organization of about 6,000 doctors — recently penned a letter calling for the cancellation of the games.
The CEO of Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten told organizers that holding the games amid the pandemic would amount to a “suicide mission” and was the strongest opposition so far voiced by a business leader.
A public petition which garnered 350,000 signatures in only 9 days begged organizers to cancel the games.
However, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach pushed back against critics and said he believes the risks are overblown and have been managed well so far. According to him, the games are slated to take place without spectators. Olympic athletes and staff will be quarantined and regularly tested. He also added that Japanese and Tokyo 2020 officials would make the right decision on managing the situation.
Still, the US has issued a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory for Japan, which once again puts the Tokyo Olympics in jeopardy of ever happening at all.
With the ongoing COVID state of emergency in Japan, is it worth the risk to continue with the games? Or, should the US and other nations begin to pull their athletes out of competition for fear of contracting the Japanese variant and seeding it around the world once participants return home?
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CBS News: With just 50 days remaining until the Tokyo Olympics begin, an estimated 10,000 unpaid volunteers told organizers that they will no longer be participating in the Summer Games. According to a report from the Associated Press on Wednesday, organizers believe that many dropped out due to fears of contracting COVID-19. Currently, an estimated 2-3 percent of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. However, International Olympic Committee experts believe that at least 80 percent of athletes and resident of Olympic Village will be fully vaccinated when the Tokyo Olympics get underway. “We have not confirmed the individual reasons,” organizers said in a statement. “In addition to concerns about the coronavirus infection, some dropped out because they found it would be difficult to actually work after checking their work shift, or due to changes in their own environment.” Despite the loss of volunteers, organizers don’t expect the dropouts to affect the… Read more »