Tokyo Olympics: events rescheduled as Tropical Storm Nepartak heads towards Japan
- The storm could make landfall next week, with wind speeds of up to 90kmh
- Rowing competitions scheduled on Monday have been brought forward to Sunday
Tropical Storm Nepartak, with gusts up to 90 kilometres per hour, was still about 1,800km south of Tokyo on Saturday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
But it is on course to arrive in the Olympic host city by Tuesday, the weather agency said.
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Rowing competitions scheduled to take place Monday at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay have been brought forward to Sunday as a result of the weather forecast.
“In the case of rowing, as a protective measure we have decided to change the event schedule,” he added.
“We’re looking closely at the path of the typhoon,” Takaya said, warning it could pose a danger if it makes landfall. “We will take responsible measures.”
Japan’s typhoon season runs from around May to October, peaking in August and September.
Storms have disrupted sport in the country before. In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis hit as Japan hosted the Rugby World Cup. The powerful storm killed more than 100 people, and forced World Cup organisers to cancel three pool matches.
At least 123 infections linked to the Games have been reported, including 17 new cases on Saturday. While the number of cases is small compared to the total number of athletes and staff, it has added to public concern about the safety of the events.
Saturday’s cases included 14 contractors, an athlete and two games officials, one of whom had been staying at the athletes’ village, organisers said.
The athlete was a foreign citizen but had not been living in the village, according to the organising body of the games.
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The organisers have vowed to stage a safe and secure Olympics and Paralympics, with quarantine rules and testing to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
But positive results have continued to trickle in daily, amid concern over whether Covid-19 countermeasures are being properly followed.
Some athletes marching in the opening ceremony at the National Stadium on Friday did not wear masks in violation of the Olympics “playbook”, including most members of the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan delegations.
Christophe Dubi, the International Olympic Committee’s executive director of the games, said the organisers would be on the lookout for egregious rule breakers.
“Every time we see someone without a mask, and that happens a little bit everywhere, it’s our duty, all of us, to say, ‘Reminder, mask please’. And in most of the cases, people do simply forget,” he said at a press conference Saturday. “If you have blatant behaviours that are absolutely unbearable, we will definitely take action.”
Reporting by dpa, Kyodo, AFP
