Tokyo: The audience will be banned from Paralympics Tokyo for the fear of Coronavirus, said Monday organizers, because Japan fought to record infections despite emergency measures in several parts of the country.
Paralympics opened on August 24, and several teams already existed in this country in training camps.
But the game comes with Japan face a new wave of virus cases and emergencies in place in six regions.
“More stringent steps will be taken for competition to be held in this prefecture, including no audience,” said the organizer in a statement along with local and national governments and international Paralympic Committees.
The statement said exceptions would be made to allow some school children to be under a special program.
But the organizers emphasize children will only participate with “safety measures” and “where the local government or school administration requests this in response to the wishes of parents and other people”.
The decision has been expected extensively, and following the same steps applies to the Olympics, which ended on August 8, the case of the virus soared across Japan, with more than 20,000 new daily infections recorded in the last few days, driven by a more contagious Delta variant.
Tokyo and five other fields are currently under emergencies that prohibit alcohol sales based on bars and restaurants and limit their opening hours.
This size also faces the presence of events at 5,000 people, or a 50 percent capacity, which is lacking.
The Japanese government witnessed the Paralympics will be safely held, and remain committed to accommodating them, but are under pressure growing on the virus.
Only 37 percent of Japan’s population was fully vaccinated, after a slow start to the launch of the vaccine.
PACE has recently increased rapidly, and the government says all adults who want a vaccine will be able to have it in the fall.
But the Delta variant has surpassed vaccination programs, such as in many other places, and emergency measures are increasingly not enough to curb the spread of infection.
Surge in cases comes only with more than a week until Paralympics is open.
About 4,400 athletes are expected to participate, and such as their Olympic colleagues, they will face daily testing and restrictions on their movements.
Apart from the surge in virus cases in Japan during the Olympics, game officials said there was no proof of link to a massive sporting event.
The case increased before the match began, and the emergency was already in Tokyo when the Olympics opened.
Olympic organizers have reported 540 positive cases among athletes, officials and media, most of them among Japanese employees and contractors based in Japan.
Three other people have tested positive within 14 days after leaving Japan, all media, according to the organizers.
And at least 31 people related to the Paralympic Olympics have been tested positively so far, with other cases reported among teams that arrived early for training camps.
The head of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons warned last week that participants did not disappoint their guards.
“While it was encouraging that the Olympic match was delivered safely and succeeded, those who attended Paralympic matches should not be complacent,” he said.
“We cannot ignore current cases in Japan and Tokyo, and I urge every stakeholder for Paralympic matches to be vigilant.”