A guide to good sanitary behavior was sent to athletes for the 2020 Olympics. -

Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

Wearing a compulsory mask, no handshakes and above all no hugs: this is what awaits participants in the Tokyo Olympics postponed to next summer (July 23-August 8) due to coronavirus, according to a guide for athletes published Tuesday by the organizers.

“If you've been to the Games before, we know that this experience will be different in a number of ways,” explains the 33-page document, which calls on athletes to “limit contact with other people as much as possible”.

Participants will have to wear a mask “at all times, except when you are training, competing, eating or sleeping, or if you are outside and can stand two meters from others,” says the guide.

The document warns athletes subject to these very strict health rules that they could be excluded from competitions if they do not respect them.

"Repeated or serious breaches of these rules can lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation", warn the organizers.

No “unnecessary physical contact” at the Olympic Village

Athletes will be tested at least every four days and if they are positive they will not be able to participate in competitions.

Their stay in Japan will be limited “to reduce the risk of infection” and those staying at the Olympic Village will “avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact”.

Organizers said on Tuesday that they still plan to distribute around 150,000 free condoms to athletes.

Athletes will also be allowed to participate in training camps in Japan before the start of the Games, but all their trips must be strictly registered and the use of public transport will be subject to authorization.

They "must not go to gymnasiums, tourist areas, shops, restaurants or bars" and can only go "to the official sites of the Games and to a limited number of other places".

Tokyoites still opposed to the Games

This guide should be reviewed and updated at least twice before the start of the Games.

It follows the publication last week of two similar guides, the first for sports supervision, the second for the press, which also set very strict rules in the face of Covid-19.

The publication of these guides by the organizing committee aims to allow the Tokyo Olympics to be held even if the Covid-19 is still circulating during their course, which is probable.

On February 2, the president of the organizing committee Yoshiro Mori had said that the Games would take place "whatever happens" regarding the evolution of the pandemic.

A sentence that was badly passed in Japan, where a large majority of the population is opposed to the holding of the Games, according to a series of polls published in recent months.

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