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An Olympics happening in Japan — yet cut off from it
The CBC has arrived in Tokyo this week for the 2020 Olympic Games. A week out from the opening ceremony, Adrienne Arsenault takes a look at how officials are trying to keep athletes and members of the media contained in an effort to limit any risk of COVID-19 spreading.
Keeping an eye on it all must feel like herding cats. The opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo is a week away and athletes, officials and members of the world's media are starting to pour through the airports in a city really uneasy about opening the doors.
Right on cue, the concerns from Tokyo are getting louder. Restrictions for all are getting tighter.
Spectators, domestic and international, already know they cannot attend the events. Thousands of volunteers are being told they are no longer needed.
And now the Tokyo 2020 organizers say they will be restricting access around the cauldron, the fan zones and fan activity centres. There is not much left for the Japanese to possibly get out of the experience except for watching it all unfold on television.
The last-minute, although arguably inevitable, restrictions are because of the last-minute, although arguably inevitable, spike in coronavirus cases.
Tokyo on Thursday reported its highest COVID-19 numbers in six months, with officials confirming 1,308 new cases. The city is in its fourth state of emergency but the subway is still busy, restaurants are still open, people are still going to work. And the vaccine rollout is still a struggle.
Roughly 30 per cent of people in the country have had just a single shot. So there is anxiety and fatigue. And certainly there is frustration about all the arrivals.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/tokyo-olympics-unease-restrictions-arsenault-1.6103941
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发表于 2021-7-16 20:38:41