TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday called for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or curtailed for two weeks as the country battles to stem coronavirus contagion amid mounting concerns the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be canceled.
Mr. Abe’s call came after a Tokyo baseball team said it would play games in an empty stadium this weekend, while two businesses in central Tokyo reported confirmed cases of infection a day after the government urged companies to recommend staff consider working from home.
“Taking into account that the next one to two weeks are extremely important in stopping the spread of infection, the government considers there to be a large risk of transmission at sports, cultural events and large gatherings of people,” Mr. Abe said in parliament.
Japan has at least 164 cases of infections from the flu-like coronavirus, apart from 691 reported from a cruise ship docked south of Tokyo. The government has shifted strategy in fighting the contagion, seeking to slow its expansion and minimize the number of deaths — now five — rather than stopping it completely, now seen as impossible.
Earlier on Wednesday the minister in charge of the Olympics sought to quell fears the Olympics could be canceled.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound said earlier the Games would more likely be canceled than postponed or moved should the virus threat enforce any change in schedule, the Associated Press reported, with a decision necessary by May. — Reuters
