The Tokyo Olympics start in less than two weeks, and it has been decided that most events will be held behind closed doors. For foreign athletes and journalists, it is about quarantine, even if you are 100% vaccinated. For the Japanese, of whom only 16.8% are, the goal is to minimize the risk of contamination and an explosion in the number of cases of Covid-19 in the country.
The decision to refrain from spectators is a first in Olympic history. There will therefore be no one in almost all the venues for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and its region, but not only because the governor of the Hokkaido region in the north has also decided to ban the presence of spectators in the stands during football matches.
He estimated that the restrictions imposed by the organizers were insufficient and would not restrict the movement of people from Tokyo, where the number of new cases is increasing sharply – about 900 cases per day right now.
Mixed reactions in Japan: The Japanese daily Nikkei decided in an editorial that a ban on the public would not be enough to stop the spread. Asahi magazine, official sponsor who asked in May the cancellation of the games, accused the Japanese government of trying to “rush through” the Olympic event.
Many Japanese athletes hoped to take advantage of the cramped stage of a crowded stadium, but many understand that tough precautions must be taken.
Many limitations
Restrictions, rules to be followed carefully, the Japanese are careful. The state of emergency will be reintroduced in Tokyo from Monday 12 July and will run until 22 August. The unit mainly contains restrictions for bars and restaurants: sales of alcohol are limited and they must be closed earlier.
But there are still many contradictions: to get to Tokyo you have to do many PCR tests to be sure you can fly. In addition to foreign journalists and athletes, who still separated upstream from the rest of the travelers, were in the corridors of the airport once after immigration.
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In addition, after the Ugandan athletes, then the Serbs, it was an Israeli athlete who tested positive on his arrival at Tokyo airport – he and his entire team were immediately quarantined. There is also a suspected case of Covid-19 for a newly arrived Lithuanian athlete. So despite the more than strict upstream system, no one is safe from Covid-19, which will not reassure the Japanese who have already seen these games with a negative eye.
Limited access rights
Not all hotels, however, on the state list, are not in order with regard to the announced measures. Result: there is a restriction to go out to buy food or be tested. However, a reminder to order from the authorities to explain that they have heard of illegal exits, which may mean a return with the first plane to your country, has already been sent to foreigners who came to the Olympics. Fifteen minutes for shopping: a new contradiction, as the quarantine prohibits going to public stores.
But these fifteen minutes, on the other hand, are enough to realize that the rainy season is beginning to pass to make room for a dull heat and moisture. The Japanese capital is plagued by a strong heat wave every summer. The weather is a factor to be taken into account for the athletes, who will start their events in two weeks, under perceived temperatures approaching 40 ° C.
This is why some events will not take place in Tokyo where the heat wave could erupt, but they will be moved north, such as marathons or football, in Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido.
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