The International Olympic Committee (IOC) reassured an anxious Japan on Wednesday that the Tokyo Olympics would be safe for athletes as well as the host community, amid mounting opposition to the Games and fears it will fuel a spike in Covid-19 cases. Bach’s comments came as Japan’s slow vaccination campaign has undermined already shaky public confidence that the Games should proceed. “Together with our Japanese partners and friends, I can only re-emphasise this full commitment of the IOC to organise safe Olympic and Paralympic games for everybody,” Bach said. Cabinet figures showed this week that three months into Japan’s vaccination push, less than 40 per cent of its medical workers were fully inoculated. Japan aims to inoculate most of its 36 million people older than 65 by the end of July.

Source: The Irish Times May 19, 2021 08:49 UTC