Japan’s government said Thursday it plans a new virus state of emergency stretching throughout the Olympics, as reports said organisers could bar fans from almost all events at the Games.
With just two weeks until the July 23 opening ceremony, coronavirus infections are rising in the capital, and the spread of the more infectious Delta variant has spooked officials.
The rising cases threaten to derail plans to let up to 10,000 local fans into Olympic venues, and could mean Tokyo 2020 is the first-ever Games held behind closed doors.
“The number of new cases continues to rise in Tokyo,” warned Japan’s minister in charge of the virus response Yasutoshi Nishimura on Thursday.