Guernsey Press

WHO leader says risk inevitable at Tokyo Olympics

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the most important factor is how any infections are handled.

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The Tokyo Olympics should not be judged by the tally of Covid-19 cases that arise, because eliminating risk is impossible, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an International Olympic Committee meeting in Tokyo that how infections are handled is what matters most, as events begin in Japan.

The number of Games-linked Covid-19 cases in Japan this month reached 79 on Wednesday, with more international athletes testing positive at home and unable to travel.

“The mark of success in the coming fortnight is not zero cases,” Mr Tedros said, noting the athletes who already tested positive in Japan, including at the athletes village in Tokyo Bay, where most of the 11,000 competitors will stay.

Teammates classed as close contacts of infected athletes can continue training and preparing for events under a regime of isolation and extra monitoring.

Health experts in Japan have warned of the Olympics becoming a “super-spreader” event, bringing in tens of thousands of athletes, officials and workers during a local state of emergency.

Tokyo Olympics Skateboarding
Sora Shirai, of Japan, trains during a street skateboarding practice session in Tokyo (AP)

The WHO leader also had a more critical message and a challenge for leaders of richer countries about sharing vaccines more fairly in the world.

“The pandemic is a test and the world is failing,” Mr Tedros said, predicting more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 worldwide before the Olympic flame goes out in Tokyo on August 8.

Tokyo Olympics Swimming
Athletes exercise during a swimming training session at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre (AP)

Mr Tedros warned anyone who believed the pandemic was over because it was under control in their part of the world lived in “a fool’s paradise.”

The world needs to produce 11 billion doses next year and the WHO wanted governments to help reach a target of vaccinating 70% of people in every country by the middle of next year.

“The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it,” Mr Tedros said.

“It is in our hands.”

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