- The Coronavirus Pandemic could cause Tokyo 2020 to be canceled at some point during the competitions.
- Tokyo has seen almost 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, leading Olympic Officials to discuss whether or not to continue with the events.
- Any wagers made on the 2020 Summer Olympics will be void should the events be canceled at any point before they begin.
TOKYO – As the Coronavirus cases rise amongst those involved with the Olympics in Tokyo, Toshiro Muto, the President of the Olympic Organizing Committee has said there could still be a cancellation of the events only two days before the official start of the games.
"We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises," said Muto on Tuesday. "We can't predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases. So, we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.”
Any Olympic gambling already done by players would be refunded by sportsbooks should the competitions not take place.
Will The Olympics Still Be Held?
There has been news circulating that a very last minute canceling of all of the games could occur. Olympic Officials and Government Officials in Tokyo will be meeting to get the up-to-date statistics on the Coronavirus. Japan is hoping to stop a fourth wave of COVID-19 from impacting their country.
However, Olympic betting odds will remain on sports betting platforms until any announcements of cancellations are formally made.
On Wednesday, Tokyo had a total of 1,832 new Coronavirus cases, the largest number they’ve seen in months.
"What we have worried about is now actually happening," said Toshio Nakagawa, President of Japan's National Medical Association. "The surge in cases has been expected whether we have the Olympics or not, and we are afraid that there will be an explosive increase in cases regardless of the Olympics."
Over 70 of those cases so far have been either athletes or personnel affiliated with the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. A number of sponsors, including Toyota, have opted out of the opening ceremonies, much to the surprise of the Japanese government. With sponsorships and athletes, as well as locals falling victim to the Coronavirus Pandemic, will the Olympic Games be next?
Touch And Go
Although the opening day of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games doesn’t begin until Friday, the Olympic news continues to pour in by the hour. At the moment, everything is set to start the closed competitions with alternates being used in place of any athlete that is quarantined, but there is still an air of uncertainty if the games will be held in their entirety or if cancellations will occur before then.
"I really want to apologize from my heart for the accumulation of frustrations and concerns that the public has been feeling towards the Olympics,” said Seiko Hashimoto, co-president of the organizing committee.
The Summer 2020 Olympics are still slated to begin on Friday from Tokyo when the Opening Ceremony is broadcasted.