One month before the Tokyo Olympics and the State of the emergency lifted across 11 prefectures, the Japanese Government has decided to allow up to 10,000 domestic spectators or 50% of venue capacity.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide urged that Games must be performed successfully safely and securely. For this, the Tokyo Organizing Committee has prepared guidelines for spectators, which include a ban on singing, shouting, and cheering. Additionally, visitors in the arena will be required to wear face masks all the time, and Spectators will be required to leave the venues in a staggered manner. It is also added in the guidelines that all of the spectators should travel between their homes and the arenas without stopping anywhere else en route.
Reportedly, 10000 Spectators will include VIP students from the school groups, and those from corporates have not been included in the count. Also, sponsors and delegates, who are considered organizers, have not been included in the count. However, the said limit can be reduced further after July 12, based on any emergency introduced or if any anti-infection measures will be added by the organizers. All these restrictions on the event are imposed taking Coronavirus infection in mind.
But the experts in Japan have continued to warn that the Tokyo Olympics can lead to a surge of Coronavirus infection. The National Institution of Infectious Disease is concerned that if the emergency declaration is lifted too early, the number of new daily infections in Tokyo will exceed 1,000 cases in late July or early August, immediately after the opening of the Olympics.
Toward the end of the state emergency on 20 June, the rise has been seen in the number of people out in the town. Tokyo has recently seen a hike in COVID-19 infections and recorded 435 new infections on Tuesday, which is 98 cases more than the week before. The current rate of infection is raising fears of the ‘Fifth wave’ in the capital.
Whether or not measures will prove successful to curb infection, IOC officials are determined to move forward with the opening of the Games. IOC Vice President – John Coates in May made controversial remarks to a UK media outlet saying that “unless it’s an Armageddon, the Olympics can be held.” This attitude of Coates was criticized as being disrespectful to Japanese people and further fueled people’s calls for canceling the Games.