Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games may be too big a gamble, disease expert says – ‘Is it like the attitude of a bad gambler?’

With Covid-19 numbers on the rise, infectious disease expert Kentaro Iwata says Japan is ‘facing far more danger than last year’

Variables such as vaccinations and full-contact sports also cause for concern, says Tokyo health and welfare professor

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The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games are in doubt as Tokyo’s Covid-19 numbers continues to rise. Photo: AP

Published: 1:10pm, 21 Jan 2021Updated: 1:10pm, 21 Jan 2021

As embattled Tokyo 2020 organisers enter the final six months of preparations for the delayed Olympic Games on Saturday, virus experts believe hosting the world’s biggest sporting event may be too big a gamble.

The Olympics are due to start on July 23 but with much of Japan in a state of emergency and growing public opposition, organisers are under increasing pressure.

Japan has been less severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic than many other advanced economies, but a recent surge in cases spurred it to close its borders to non-resident foreigners and declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and major cities.

With 15,000 athletes plus support staff expected to descend on Tokyo for the delayed Olympics and Paralympics Games from all over the world, the Games represent a unique challenge for organisers.

A woman wearing a protective mask walks past a banner for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Photo: AP

“Do you have to risk that? Risk by holding the Olympic Games? I don’t think so,” Kentaro Iwata, a prominent infectious diseases expert from Kobe University, said.

“We are facing far more danger than last year, so why do you have to hold the Olympic Games, cancelled last year due to risk of infections, this year?