Part of torch relay now off Tokyo roads
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Tokyo has decided to move the first half of the 15-day Olympic torch relay scheduled to take place in the capital off pubic roads, the metropolitan government said yesterday, as coronavirus infection numbers show signs of surging again.
The torch relay was due to reach the Japanese capital on July 9, passing mostly through the outer suburbs and islands before parading through the center of the city from July 17 until the Games’ opening ceremony on July 23.
During the first eight days to July 18, torch-lighting ceremonies will be held without spectators and the relay will not be held on public roads, the metropolitan government said. Relays on the islands, however, will be kept on public roads.
The Tokyo government will decide soon on how to conduct the torch relay in the second half of the capital-city leg, while carefully watching the coronavirus situation.
Japan has not suffered the explosive outbreaks of the virus seen elsewhere, but it has only recently emerged from a fourth wave of infections.
A decline in the pace of new cases and a pick-up in the vaccination rollout prompted authorities to ease a state of emergency in Tokyo and eight other prefectures on June 20.
However, with the delayed Olympics looming, experts are worried about a renewed rise in cases in Tokyo and the spread of more highly transmissible variants. The Games also faces resistance from a substantial portion of the public.
“The number of infections nationwide is on a declining trend, settling down,” Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference yesterday.
He added, however, that infection rates remained “somewhat high” in the capital Tokyo and some other areas.
Tokyo recorded 476 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, marking the 10th consecutive day of week-on-week rises.
Meanwhile, world No. 3 Romanian Simona Halep and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland have become the latest big-name tennis players to withdraw from the Olympics due to injury problems.
While Halep said she would not recover from a calf injury in time, Wawrinka underwent foot surgery that would rule him out of the Games.
Halep and Wawrinka join 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 20-time major winner Rafael Nadal and US Open champion Dominic Thiem among others in skipping the Olympics.
“Nothing brings me more pride than representing Romania, but sadly the recovery from my calf injury requires more time and I have made the decision to withdraw from the Olympic Games this summer,” Halep tweeted on Monday.
In May, the 29-year-old exited a claycourt event in Rome after picking up the injury during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber and was subsequently forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon.
Former world No. 3 Wawrinka, 36, underwent an operation on his left foot earlier this year and has not played on the tour since his opening round loss to Lloyd Harris at the Qatar Open in March.
He underwent an additional procedure on the same foot to correct a small niggle, which will rule him out of the Olympics, Wawrinka’s team said in a statement.
Wawrinka, currently ranked 30th, won a gold medal in doubles with Roger Federer at the 2008 Beijing Games.
“He’s very disappointed not to be able to play in the Games and represent Switzerland in Tokyo, but he is already working hard on his recovery and towards his goal of getting back on court as soon as possible,” the statement said.
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