Dick Pound, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced today that the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July this year will be postponed due to a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) on 23rd (local time).

The Canadian Pound Commissioner is the longest serving IOC member on the board, and since becoming an IOC member in 1978, he has held a number of positions including executive committee and vice chairman.

In a telephone interview with USA Today, Pound said that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed and likely to be held next year.

The IOC discussed the acting for the first time in an emergency executive committee the previous day, saying, "We will begin a detailed discussion, including scenarios of postponing (Olympic Games) to complete a global assessment of the changing global health situation and its impact on the Olympics."

In response, the committee announced that the Tokyo Olympics will be postponed, and details will be settled within the next four weeks.

"The decision was made based on the information IOC had," said Pound Commissioner. "There are variables left, but as far as I know (Tokyo Olympics), the game will not start on July 24th."

"We are going to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and deal with the enormous wave of it," he said. "I think the IOC will announce the next steps in the near future."

(yunhap news)