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New Delhi, India
Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has raised doubts over the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics as the said he âcanât be certainâ about the Games due to the continued spread of the dreaded COVID-19.
âI canât be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus,â Pound told the BBC.
Poundâs statement comes after the IOC said it has âfull confidenceâ in the Tokyo Olympic organisers and remains committed to the quadrennial event going ahead as per the revised scheduled in July despite Tokyo going under a state of emergency on Thursday.
The Japanese capital is witnessing the third wave of infections in recent weeks which prompted prime minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighbouring areas.
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Pound further said that all Olympic-bound athletes should be vaccinated as a priority. In November 2020, IOC President Thomas Bach had urged athletes to get vaccinated before the Games but said it would not be mandatory for the event.
On Thursday, the IOC responded to the state of emergency announced in Tokyo as they said they are fully committed and concentrated on delivering a safe and successful Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in the summer.
âThe IOC has full confidence in the Japanese authorities and the measures they are taking,â it said in a statement released to Kyodo News.
âTogether with our Japanese partners, we continue to be fully concentrated and committed to the safe and successful delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer.â
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Tokyo announced a record 2,447 new COVID-19 cases before the state of emergency was declared by the Japanese PM.
The Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are scheduled to commence on July 23 with Paralympics set to open on August 24.
Earlier, in a New Year video message, Bach had called Tokyo âstill the best prepared Olympic city everâ and thanked Japan for its commitment and determination to organize the games âin a safe and secure way for all the participantsâ that will fit a post-coronavirus world.