Lausanne: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach stepped up to boost the morale of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics organisers amid Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China that took more than 2,800 lives until now. Bach said the IOC is fully committed to hosting the 2020 Olympic Games in the Japanese capital of Tokyo according to the schedule.
As the Coronavirus is fast spreading across the world there are a lot of concerns regarding the Tokyo Olympics coming into a reality. In a conference call, Bach told Japanese media that the IOC "is fully committed to a successful Olympic Games in Tokyo starting July 24."
Tokyo 2020 Olympics is scheduled to start on July 24. On being asked about any alternatives, which may require at the last minute in case of any emergency, to the host the world's biggest multi sports event, Bach said that he would not create any speculation.
Bach, a former Olympic fencer, said that the best thing would be to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled. When asked to put to rest the idea that there are other alternatives (it was suggested by IOC member Dick Pound in an interview earlier) to holding the 2020 Olympics, Bach instead spoke about the steps being taken.
Key points from Thomas Bach's conference call with Japanese media. "(The priority) is to ensure the qualification procedure and protecting the safety of athletes at the same time. This is what we’re doing in cooperation with the Japanese authorities, the World Health Organization, the Chinese Olympic Committee and many National Olympic Committees," he said.
"For the IOC, it’s true what we’ve been saying all the time that the preparations for Tokyo 2020 are continuing with a view to having a successful Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo," he quipped.
