Tokyo (AFP)

Thousands of Olympic volunteers and officials began to be vaccinated on Friday in Tokyo, nearly a month before the Games, as the decision on public attendance is expected next week.

On Monday, all stakeholders will meet to discuss the presence or absence of spectators and, if applicable, the reception conditions.

At the end of this meeting, the organizers will have to decide whether to leave the stands empty, since spectators coming from abroad have already been banned, or if they allow the public to attend this global event ( July 23-August 8).

Much awaited by athletes, who fear being behind closed doors, this choice will be difficult for the organizers, who are now in the home stretch before the opening ceremony and are scrambling to finalize the anti-Covid rules.

"Organizing the Games without spectators is a better way to control the risk (of the spread of the virus in the country, editor's note) and to ensure safe and secure Games (...) But as long as we have spectators who want to attend the Games there, we will try as much as possible to satisfy them and limit the risks, "said organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto on Friday at a press conference.

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- Towards the closed door?

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"Our mission is to find the best way to achieve this. But if the circumstances are too unfavorable, we will be forced to give up welcoming spectators and (this decision) can be taken until the last moment", a- she added, as a group of medical experts advising the government said on Friday that "the ideal" would be in camera.

If there is to be an audience, the number of spectators will be limited anyway by the government's anti-virus measures.

In Tokyo, the number of spectators is currently capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, whichever is lower.

This rule will remain in force at least until July 11, even if the state of health emergency ends on Sunday.

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After July 11, the cap will be raised to 10,000 people or 50% of a venue's capacity, but experts have urged organizers of the Olympics to "impose stricter standards" if they allow spectators.

And they warned that organizers must be prepared to back down and ban all spectators if the health situation and pressure on the medical system worsens during the Games.

Pending this decision, Japanese officials are trying to vaccinate as many participants as possible on time.

Japanese athletes have already started to be vaccinated, but the program was extended Friday to Olympic staff, volunteers and others who will rub shoulders with foreign athletes.

- Convince the Japanese -

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) donated enough doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for 40,000 people, including airport staff, local journalists and Olympic referees.

These doses are separate from those used for the nationwide campaign in Japan, which gained momentum recently, with more than 6% of the population now fully immunized.

The vaccinations come as the organizers of the Olympics strive to convince a skeptical Japanese public that the biggest international event since the start of the pandemic will be safe.

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This week, they warned athletes could be kicked out of the Games if they break mask-wearing or daily testing rules.

The Tokyo-2020 organizing committee announced on Friday that it had further reduced the number of foreign participants coming to Japan for the Olympics and Paralympics to 53,000, not counting about 15,500 athletes.

This figure is well below the 177,000 people initially expected, including officials, sponsors and the media, he said.

© 2021 AFP