The head of a Japanese doctors’ union warned on Thursday that holding the Tokyo Olympics in July—with tens of thousands of people from around the world congregating in the capital city—could lead to the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus, as calls grow among other medical professionals, as well as a major Olympics partner, for the games to be either postponed or canceled.
‘Olympic strain’
- Dr. Naoto Ueyama, chairman of the Japan Doctors Union said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government have underestimated the risks of bringing tens of thousands of athletes, officials, judges, broadcasters and others from more than 200 countries together in one place.
- Ueyama warned that the gathering may lead to several variants of the coronavirus from around the world being concentrated in Tokyo which could allow for the emergence of an “Olympic strain” of the virus, Reuters reported.
- Ueyama compared the virus to a war-like situation and said he was speaking from his experience as a hospital physician who works just outside Tokyo.
- On Wednesday, Asahi Shimbun—one of Japan’s most influential newspapers and official Tokyo Olympics partner—carried an editorial urging the government to cancel the games.
- The IOC, however, continues to insist that the games will go forward as planned and will be done so in a “safe and secure” manner.
- Ueyama’s statement follows calls by the Tokyo Medical Practitioners’ Association to cancel the Olympics in a letter to the Japanese prime minister earlier this month.
Crucial quote
Commenting on the possibility of a new strain, Ueyama said: “If such a situation were to arise, it could even mean a Tokyo Olympic strain of the virus being named in this way, which would be a huge tragedy and something which would be the target of criticism, even for 100 years.”
Big number
$17 billion. That is the estimated cost that Japan could face for canceling the Olympics and the Paralympics, according to the Nomura Research Institute. The institute, however, warned of an even bigger economic loss if Japan is forced to impose a fresh state of emergency to cope with a Covid-19 spike stemming from the games.
Surprising fact
Only 2.3% of Japan’s entire population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 according to a tracker run by Bloomberg. This makes it one of the slowest vaccine rollouts among developed nations.
Key background
Earlier this week, Japan mobilized its military to set up mass vaccination camps to inoculate elderly people in Tokyo and Osaka in an effort to kick start the country’s slow vaccine rollout. Japan has set an ambitious target of inoculating its entire elderly population of 36 million by the end of July. However, meeting that steep target will require the country to administer over a million doses every day—more than double its current speed of around 420,000 doses per day according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. The slow rollout of the vaccines and a growing number of new Covid-19 cases have led to strong opposition against the decision to go forward with the Olympics this summer. Comments made by senior IOC officials—who have been steadfast in insisting that the games will go ahead—have also drawn the ire of the Japanese public. IOC president Thomas Bach faced criticism in Japan after suggesting that “some sacrifices” would have to be made to allow the Olympics to go forward.