The Tokyo Olympics will take place, says the organizing committee which criticizes "irresponsible rumors" - France 24

Tokyo (AFP)

Castigating "irresponsible rumors", the chairman of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Yoshiro Mori, once again stressed on Thursday that he did not plan to "postpone or cancel the Games" because of the coronavirus epidemic.

Just 162 days before the opening ceremony, questions are frequently raised about a possible postponement of the Olympic Games if the virus spreads throughout Asia.

"We would like to coordinate with the national government and act calmly," said Mori during a meeting with senior officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The epidemic of viral pneumonia, now known as Covid-19, has already forced the postponement of a series of sporting events in China, including Olympic qualifying competitions.

The list keeps growing. Wednesday the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Shanghai, scheduled for mid-April, has been postponed and could be canceled. Planned sporting events in Asia could also be postponed if the epidemic worsens.

On Thursday, a commune of 10,000 inhabitants near Hanoi was placed in quarantine, a first in Vietnam bordering on China.

During this meeting with IOC members, the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, promised to implement "rigorous measures" to protect the population against the Covid-19 in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

Japan has had no deaths but has 28 cases on its soil, including four in serious condition in the hospital. Another 218 people, including a quarantine officer, were infected on a cruise ship sailing off the coast of Japan.

The mayor of the Olympic village, Saburo Kawabuchi, said at the meeting that he hopes he will increase the humidity in the air to kill the disease. "We have the rainy season that could defeat the virus," he said.

In China on Thursday, Hubei province, where the virus appeared, announced an additional 242 deaths and nearly 15,000 new people infected.

At least 1,355 people have died in the country and nearly 60,000 have been infected in mainland China, a figure that jumped after a new detection method was introduced on Wednesday.

© 2020 AFP