Paris (AFP)
The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) thanked the Japanese Prime Minister and the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday for the "sacrifice" they made by postponing the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of the pandemic of coronavirus.
"I thank Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the IOC members for making this sacrifice to protect the health of athletes, spectators and officials," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference.
Welcoming a "difficult but wise" decision, the WHO chief said "looking forward to next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, which we hope will be a greater and more beautiful celebration of our humanity shared. "
"The postponement of the Games was decided entirely and only by the IOC and the Japanese government," assured WHO director of health emergencies Michael Ryan, "but we fully support this decision."
The thanks of Doctor Ghebreyesus come the day after the announcement of the postponement of the Olympic Games, a first in peacetime in the modern era.
Scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020, they will take place in 2021 "at the latest" in the summer. The decision of the IOC and the Japanese organization came after several days of pressure from athletes, federations and Olympic committees.
The coronavirus caused nearly 450,000 contaminations and more than 20,500 deaths, according to a count made by AFP Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. GMT (8:00 p.m. French), from official sources.
© 2020 AFP