Paralympics to be staged without spectators

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The 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo is set to take place without spectators, the organisers said on Monday, August 16. In the Olympics that took place from July 23 to August 8, fans were allowed from the outlying areas away from Tokyo. However, all fans have been barred from the Paralympics, except a few children attending a few unmentioned events.

The organisers have also urged people to not come out to view road events. The decision was taken after a meeting between Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa and International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons.

Parsons stated that the organisers can’t afford to drop their guard after successfully conducting the Olympics in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In light of the current case numbers in Tokyo and wider Japan, everyone attending these games must be vigilant,” Parsons was quoted as saying in a news conference, Sky Sports reported.

Paralympics to take place amidst COVID-19 surge

The contingent taking part in the Paralympics is 4400, much less than the 11,000 that took part in the Olympics a few days ago. However, the upcoming event is scheduled at a time when the COVID-19 cases have started to go up alarmingly in Tokyo.

The Games will get underway on Thursday, August 24 and will be played until Sunday, September 5. 540 events across 22 sports are set to entertain audiences across the globe.

In the last 17 days of the Tokyo Olympics, the new infections in Tokyo tripled. But the medical experts believed that the infections weren’t directly linked to the Olympics.

On Monday, Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese Prime Minister, mentioned that the state of emergency in Tokyo will be extended until September 12. In Japan, 15,400 people have lost their lives due to coronavirus.

“The surge in infections is reaching alarming record highs,” Suga said after he met with other government ministers.

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