Tokyo: The public will be asked not to coat the Olympic Marathon route for concerns that the fan crowd can spread Coronavirus, said the organizer of Tokyo 2020 on Tuesday.
With less than three weeks before the PostPoned pandemic match began, the worries grew on a rebound in the case of viruses in Japan.
“Given the current Covid-19 situation, it will be necessary to reduce the risk of infection by limiting the movement of community members,” the organizers said in a statement about the marathon and running race.
“Therefore it has been decided to ask the public to refrain from watching throughout the course,” they said.
The marathon was in the center of controversy in the original buildup up to 2020 matches, when transferred to North Sapporo from Tokyo to avoid punishing summer heat.
The organizer said they had met the police and local government officials to discuss the regulatory of the women and men marathons, which will take place on August 7 and 8, and the running race event.
The statement said they would continue to work with local officials “to ensure the Tokyo 2020 game that was safe and safe for all participants and Sapporo and Hokkaido residents”.
The Japanese government is this week expected to expand the limitation of the current virus, which limits the audience in sports events to 5,000 and limits the opening hours of bars and restaurants, in several parts of the country.
Covid-19 Japanese outbreaks are not as severe in several countries, with around 14,800 deaths, but experts say other waves can stretch medical services when the Olympics begin.