The Tokyo Olympics are turning into a mess The effects of a slow Covid response are being felt. https://www.sbnation.com/2021/7/7/22566674/tokyo-olympics-covid-state-of-emergency On Wednesday the Japanese government announced it would be imposing a state of emergency in Tokyo during the Olympic games — a move which could lead to spectators being barred from watching events. The announcement comes just two weeks before the opening ceremony, which is set to commence on July 23. International fans were already barred from watching the games in person, but these new stricter rules could lead to venues being empty during competition. The new measures were announced by national broadcaster NHK, and are expected to last one month — which would span the entire length of the games. Japan had mostly beat Covid, but got complacent One of the first countries to register a Covid infection, Japan came in contact with the virus on January 16 of 2020. The nation quickly responded to the pandemic, establishing a task force within weeks — then strictly quarantining in early February. Japan’s rapid response worked. Infection rates dropped, and the nation effectively flattened its curve to the point that hospitals never became over-burdened with cases. As a result, while the U.S. was averaging over 150,000 cases a day from October to December of 2020, Japan’s numbers topped out averaging 3,000 cases a day. This successful slow of the spread became a problem. The low infection rate created a pervasive belief that put the economy over public health, which led to an approach where many Japanese officials believed the country should learn to “live with Covid,” rather than stop it all together. In turn, there was very little motivation from public health officials to roll out vaccination efforts. As recently as April just 1 percent of the population had received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, compared to 40 percent in the USA. This slow vaccine rollout coincided with a spike in cases that was alarming public health officials. In January The Washington Post wrote about Japan’s slack Covid response, outlining six months ago that unless there was a dramatic change in dealing with the virus that Japan could be in trouble, especially considering the Olympics loomed on the horizon. “But medical experts are expressing concern that the measures will be too little, too late to quickly contain the virus — meaning they will have to remain in place for longer. Adding to the worry, the Olympics are scheduled to open in Tokyo in under 200 days.” Japan saw a major Covid spike in January and February, following by a lull, then another peak mid-May. The most recent spike saw the country register an average of 6,480 new cases per day — the majority of which in Tokyo. By comparison, Mexico, the closest country in population size to Japan, but with a much broader vaccination response, registered 2,321 cases. This will be Tokyo’s fourth Covid emergency In an effort to prepare the city for the games Tokyo has undergone several Covid-based states of emergency, most recently a three week series of restrictions that ran from May 28 until June 20. Instead of opting for a full and complete lockdown, Japan has taken a half-hearted approach to locking Tokyo down, while not increasing vaccination rates significantly enough to stop the spread. Now, a fourth state of emergency has been issued — after two weeks of people returning to life as normal in the city. It’s unclear what effect this most recent state of emergency will do, especially considering the city will return to normal shortly after the Olympics. What does this mean for the games? At this point the Olympics are an unstoppable freight train that are being held out of financial motivation, more than sound thinking. The justification for delaying the games from 2020 to 2021 was ensuring the world was better prepared with a vaccination before taking part in a global sporting event. However, Japan’s slow response to vaccinate its citizens turned the games on its head. The concern a year ago was international athletes infecting locals, now Japan has a larger Covid outbreak than it did in July of 2020. The saving grace is that athletes participating in the games will be vaccinated. The games will be long over before a detailed look in Japan’s lack of Covid preparedness is evaluated — but one thing is clear: These Olympic games are quickly turning into a mess, and a response which was once in the hands of the government has now spiraled out of control.
That article mentions nothing about the rapidly growing number of protests / boycotts by the Japanese people about the Olympic games. IOC is worried about the athletes while allowing others (the government) to manage everything else outside of the Olympic venues... If riots don't happen, I will be very shocked because a perfect storm is brewing in Japan. wrbtrader
Olympics President Sparks Outrage in Tokyo By Referring to Japanese People as “Chinese” The gaffe has renewed criticism from those who say the IOC and its chief have repeatedly disrespected the people of the host country, while putting profits ahead of safety. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/thomas-bach-gaffe-japanese-chinese-1234981734/ he 2020 Tokyo Olympics, already deeply unpopular in Japan, have come under a fresh wave of criticism. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday referred to the Japanese people as “Chinese” during his first public comments after landing in Japan and completing quarantine. Bach’s speech was intended as a pep talk for the beleaguered Tokyo Games but instead became yet another source of controversy, with local critics saying the gaff was indicative of the IOC’s repeated lack of respect for the people of Japan. The IOC president was attempting to reassure the host country, which is currently under a state of emergency amid rising delta variant COVID-19 cases, that the Olympics would not become a super-spreader event. “Our common target is safe and secure games,” Bach said. “For everybody — for the athletes, for all the delegations and most importantly also for the Chinese people,” he went on, quickly attempting to correct himself by adding, “Japanese people.” The live interpreters at the press conference didn’t translate the mistake from English to Japanese but Japanese media outlets nonetheless reported on the gaff. It then went viral on social media, further compounding the Games’ deep unpopularity in the country. Recent polling has showed that a sizable majority of the Japanese public want the Tokyo Olympics canceled. Bach’s gaff follows a string of statements from IOC officials that have incensed the Japanese public and international onlookers. During the run-up to the Games, at a moment when Japan’s medical system was under strain, IOC member Dick Pound told the press the Tokyo Olympics would take place “barring Armageddon,” and regardless of whether Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga explicitly asks that they be canceled. Bach caused an additional outcry in late May by saying there was a “need to make sacrifices” (the IOC later tried to roll back his comments by insisting he wasn’t referring to the lives of Japanese people). Last week, Japan’s Olympic organizers decided to ban all spectators from Tokyo Olympic venues, except for at a handful of smaller events taking place outside the Japanese capital. Tokyo was placed under a state of emergency on Monday, which will extend until Aug. 22. The decisions have rendered the Tokyo Games a fully made-for-TV event, with public gatherings and anything like a festival atmosphere officially discouraged throughout Japan. Critics have argued that the Japanese people have been asked to bear all of the risks of staging the Olympics within an island nation, while the IOC and foreign broadcasters stand to reap all of the profits. Officials estimate that 15,400 athletes will participate in the Olympics and Paralympics, which take place throughout July and August. Including coaches, family members, media, IOC staff and sponsors, the two events are expected to bring about 93,000 people from over 200 countries into Japan. When Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2013, organizers forecast that spectators, mostly incoming foreign tourists, would spend almost $2 billion on tickets, hotels, meals and merchandise; and that the beneficial exposure and word-of-mouth effect of the foreign influx and attention, what local economists called “legacy effects,” would generate an additional $10 billion in inbound consumer spending over the coming decade. Under current restrictions, nearly all of that anticipated economic benefit for Japan is long gone. Meanwhile, Japan and its taxpayers are estimated to have spent more than $26 billion on hosting the Games, including additional cost overruns due to last year’s postponement. The IOC stands to profit handsomely from forging ahead with the troubled Tokyo Olympics. The organization generates almost 75 percent of its income from selling broadcast rights, and NBCUniversal, the U.S. rights holder, is the single largest source of that revenue, representing about 40 percent of the total. NBC paid the IOC $4.4 billion for the four Olympics spanning 2014 to 2020, and another $7.75 billion for the next six games running 2022 through 2032. Discovery Inc., which holds the European rights, is another major benefactor. During an investor conference in mid-June, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell boasted that the pandemic-tainted Tokyo Games were shaping up to be the “most profitable Olympics in the history of the company.”
What’s the Japanese vaccination rate, 2%? The idea that we can hold an Olympics in Japan right now without athletes contracting Covid and missing medal events is next to nil.
In addition, the IOC is not requiring athletes to be vaccinated but that's not a big deal to the athletes because vaccinations will disrupt their training routine. As a former athlete myself...I completely understand although I did not compete on that elite level. Yet, I've been researching and couldn't find any information about if athletes will be routinely tested for Covid in the bubble of the athletic village ??? Covid testing athletes will not disrupt their training nor competition and it should be done by each country that will be at the Olympics. Regardless, a growing number of protests from the Japanese citizens about the Olympics in this Covid environment and countries sending their athletes to Japan without any information about Covid testing... A lot of Japanese citizens are rightfully upset. wrbtrader
Who will lead the USA delegation at the games, usually it is the President or Vice president Now its Dr. Jill Is Kamala serious about running for President. The Olympics is a great place to get cred and meet world leaders with little risk They wont even trust her for that role As Biden said he wants a Black woman for VP and she has done a great job at that
He wanted a black woman for running mate to try to secure the dumbass vote. It didn't really work, just looked like it did... as it took the Dem "cheat machine" to steal the appearance of victory.
Hmmm... does the president really accompany the US Olympic team? I’m seriously asking. I thought sending the First Lady was a significant gesture.
Who said the Prez or VP leads the delegation of athletes to the Olympics? Usually it has been someone from the government but not a legal requirement. Also Japan is banning spectators and has a shit show of a COVID situation because only 1/5th of the population is vaccinated.