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Japan is already worried about the “Olympic” mutation in the coronavirus

The head of a medical association in Japan warned today that the organization of Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer with tens of thousands of people gathering there from all over the world is likely to lead to the emergence of a new “Olympic” variant of the coronavirus, according to APE.

Although Japan has repeatedly pledged to host the “safe” Olympics after a year of delay, it is fighting to contain a fourth wave of the pandemic and preparing to extend a state of emergency for much of the country.

Japanese officials, Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have all pledged that the Games will be held, however, with strict protection measures.

The arrival of foreign visitors has already been banned and the decision for the local spectators is expected next month.

But even with these measures, concerns remain about the influx of athletes and officials to Japan, where the vaccination process remains extremely slow and just over 5% of the population has been vaccinated.

With people from more than 200 countries and territories expected to arrive in Tokyo, it will be dangerous to host the Games in July.says Naoto Ueyama, head of the Japanese Medical Association.

“All the different mutations of the virus that exist in different places will be concentrated here in Tokyo. We can not deny the possibility of one more new mutation of the virus “he will probably appear after the Olympics”, he said during a press conference.

“If such a situation arose, it could even mean that a mutation in the Tokyo Olympics would be called that, which would be a huge tragedy and would be criticized even for 100 years,” he said.

Emergency situation

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the official sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, published an article yesterday calling for the event to be canceled, but former IOC Vice President Dick Pound, announced later yesterday that the games must and will take place.

The government is preparing to extend the state of emergency – most likely for a long time in June – in most parts of the country, which was originally scheduled to be lifted on May 31, officials said a few weeks before the start of the Games. July 23.

But the ILO member John Coates, argues that the event could take place even under an emergency, something that Uyama finds outrageous.

“In relation to these statements, the people of Japan are outraged and this applies even more to health workers,” Uyama said.

The country’s health system is under excessive pressure and officials in some areas are worried about the possibility of new mutations from the Games. In severely affected Osaka, for example, 96% of the 348 hospital beds for the seriously ill covid were occupied last week.

Earlier in the week, the United States recommended travel to Japan, but Olympic organizers said it would not affect the Games. For his part, Japanese Government Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that Japan would continue its efforts to control the pandemic regardless of the Olympics.

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