TOKYO: The Tokyo Olympics can be held this summer safely even under a novel coronavirus state of emergency, International Olympic Committee official John Coates said Friday.

The World Health Organization and experts say that the measures being prepared against the coronavirus will ensure “safe and secure games in terms of health,” said Coates, chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Olympics.

“That’s the case whether there’s a state of emergency or not,” he told a press conference held after an online meeting with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee.

The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23 after a one-year postponement due to the coronavirus crisis.

Organizing committee President Seiko Hashimoto said, “Our policy is to make efforts to hold safe and secure games by combining medical and scientific knowledge.”

“The key is how much we can launch thorough countermeasures without straining the domestic medical system,” she added.

Coates also said he believes that public support for the games will rise if people vaccinated against the coronavirus increase in Japan.

Even if public support does not increase, all that can be done is “to ensure these games are safe for all the participants and all of the people of Japan, who might come into contact with the participants,” he said.

JIJI Press