TOKYO—Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers said Thursday the Games would "go ahead as planned," slamming misinformation over the new coronavirus for triggering panic.
Chief executive officer Toshiro Muto revealed that organizers had set up a task force to combat the fast-spreading disease that has killed over 560 people and infected at least 28,000 -- the vast majority in mainland China -- but promised that the Games would be not derailed.
"The Olympics will go ahead as planned," he told reporters after a Paralympic project review.
"It is important to remain objective and cool-headed. We don't want to alarm the public. The infection is still limited and there is no problem staging the Olympics based on the current situation."
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence complained that scaremongering had created an "info-demic" that could skew public perception in the run-up to the Olympics and Paralympics.
"Fear is spreading quicker than the virus," he said. "It's important we quell that fear. Only 191 of the total cases are outside mainland China, so let's put things into perspective.
"If you compare those rates with the common flu, they are still relatively small numbers," added Spence.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) has not declared this a pandemic. We dealt with the Zika virus in Rio and in these matters we need to rely on the experts.
"We will follow the advice of the World Health Organization. Every organizing committee looks into countermeasures, and we have measures in place from previous Olympics and Paralympics here in Tokyo. It is standard practice, it's business as usual."
More than 20 countries have confirmed cases of the flu-like coronavirus.
GLOBAL PANIC
Japan has had no reported deaths so far, but 45 cases have been detected, including at least 20 people on a cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 passengers and crew quarantined off Yokohama.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Japan has warned citizens against non-essential travel to China and fast-tracked new rules including limits on entering the country as it tries to contain the spread of the virus.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday pledged that preparations for the Olympics would proceed as normal.
"The coronavirus is beginning to have an impact on tourism," he said. "But the government will continue to steadily prepare for the Games in close cooperation with the IOC (International Olympic Committee), the local organizing committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government."
The Japanese government has chartered 3 flights to repatriate 565 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the central Chinese city hardest hit by the virus.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike promised at the weekend to implement "thorough measures" to protect people from the virus.
The health scare has led to the cancellation of Olympic qualifying events in China such as boxing and badminton.
The Tokyo Olympics begin on July 24 with the Paralympics starting on Aug. 25.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan will coordinate closely with the World Health Organization to prevent the recent outbreak of a new coronavirus from impacting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer.
The health ministry, meanwhile, will take phlegm from possible coronavirus patients to accurately determine whether they are actually infected with the deadly pneumonia-causing virus, ministry officials said.
The government is stepping up efforts to stem the spread of the virus, which originated in Wuhan in central China, with 20 cases of infection confirmed in Japan so far. Abe said the development of a rapid test kit for the virus is under way so more institutions, including private ones, can conduct screenings.
"We will closely work with the World Health Organization and others to make sure that preparations for the Olympics and Paralympics will steadily proceed without an impact (from the outbreak)," Abe told a parliamentary session.
Olympic organizers and relevant sports associations will meet, possibly later this week, to discuss how to respond to the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases, according to Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto.
The increasing number of coronavirus infections, mainly in China but also in other parts of the world, has raised calls among ruling and opposition party lawmakers for the government to do more to protect the public.
"We have already embarked on the development of a simple test kit," Abe said. "As cases of infection in Japan are rising, it's an urgent task to improve testing (for the virus) and enhance consultation services."
The comments came in response to Fumio Kishida, the policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who said that virus testing is currently conducted only at state-run or public institutions such as the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
The government is attempting to make sure that people have access to medical services and supplies, including masks. Abe has instructed ministers to deal with the outbreak and its impact on the economy.
On Saturday, a man in his 80s was diagnosed with the virus after returning to Hong Kong on a cruise ship from Japan. The man flew to Japan from China on Jan. 17 and left Yokohama near Tokyo on the Diamond Princess cruise ship on Jan. 20, arriving in Hong Kong on Jan. 25.
After the ship, which can carry about 2,700 passengers, arrived at the port of Yokohama on Monday night, a passenger told Kyodo News that he had heard an announcement that quarantine officers would board and conduct medical tests.
The passenger was also told that the planned departure time from Yokohama would be delayed for 24 hours.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, doctors and nurses will board and check the health of all the passengers and crew.
Since Saturday, Japan has been barring foreign nationals who have been to Hubei in the two weeks prior to their arrival, as well as holders of Chinese passports issued in Hubei.
A total of eight foreigners were denied entry over the weekend, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, without elaborating.
The increase in infections has boosted demand for masks in Japan, leading the industry and health ministries to call on domestic manufacturers to increase output, Suga told reporters.
The death toll from the virus in mainland China has reached 361, topping that of the 2002-2003 SARS pandemic, according to the country's health authorities.
==Kyodo
