Tokyo Olympics President Says Games Could Still Be Canceled Next Year If COVID-19 Continues

During a press conference Tuesday, Yoshitake Yokokura, the president of Japan's Medical Association, echoed concerns about holding the Games even after another year, CNN cited.

"I am not saying that [Japan] should or shouldn't host it, but I expect it would be difficult to do so," he said, noting it would be "difficult to hold the Olympics" without a vaccine.

"I want to believe that [the number of] infected people [in Tokyo] is decreasing. But there is not enough testing being conducted in Japan so it's difficult to assess," he explained. "We need to monitor the situation for another week."

As of Tuesday, April 28, there have been at least 14,272 cases of coronavirus in Japan and 383 deaths, according to a New York Times database.

At the end of March, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) executive board met to finalize the postponement of the Games and announced that the Summer Olympics would now be held from July 23 through August 8, 2021.

“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement following their decision.

The IOC and Japanese organizers explained that the new dates would give health officials, as well as everyone involved with the Olympics, “the maximum time” to deal with the pandemic and disruption it has caused around the world.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.

Source: Read Full Article