India records 122 fresh COVID-19 cases
The total COVID-19 caseload of the country has risen to 4,50,26,261. These also include the JN.1 Covid variant cases.
In the wake of the novel coronavirus, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Parliament on Monday that postponing the Tokyo Olympic Games could be an option.
Notably, it is the first time for the Prime Minister to announce that the Games, which currently was scheduled on July 24, might be put off under mounting pressure from sports organisations around the world.
“If it is difficult to hold the games in such a way, we have to decide to postpone it, giving top priority to (the health of the) athletes,” said Abe as quoted by IANS.
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However, the PM stressed that the Games will by no means be cancelled.
“Cancellation is not an option,” Abe said.
On Friday, a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) had called for the Tokyo Olympics to be postponed. Retired judo athlete Kaori Yamaguchi, who is also a member of the JOC executive board, told Japan’s Nikkei newspaper that athletes are not able to prepare adequately for the Olympics scheduled to start from July 24.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) on Saturday had said that this year’s Tokyo Olympics should be suspended owing to the global coronavirus outbreak. Earlier, the United States Track and Field had also called for the Olympics to be postponed.
Meanwhile, World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe has said that it is possible to postpone the 2020 Olympics if necessary.
The virus, which has already been declared pandemic by the World Health Organization, has so far claimed 14,698 lives and has infected 339,029 as per Worldometer.
(With inputs from IANS)
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