The Olympic Committee of Samoa, an island nation in the South Seas, has announced that it will not send domestically-based athletes to the Tokyo Olympics to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
This was revealed in a statement by the Olympic Commission of Samoa on the 1st.
According to it, in Samoa, a total of 11 athletes in 6 competitions have been qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, and the government has announced that 3 of them are weightlifting athletes based in Japan. I decided not to dispatch to the Tokyo Games.
He explains why, "We need to protect Samoa from mutant viruses that are spreading around the world."
On the other hand, eight athletes from non-weightlifting competitions based overseas, such as Australia and New Zealand, will be dispatched to the Tokyo Games as scheduled.
Samoa is an island nation with a population of approximately 200,000, and according to a summary by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, three people have been confirmed to be infected with the new corona.
In order to prevent the spread of the infection in the country, entry is strictly restricted, and from August, people over the age of 18 who have not been vaccinated will not be allowed to board the plane.
Regarding the Tokyo Olympics, North Korea has decided not to participate as "to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the new coronavirus".