(Silver Doctors Editors) So far, the Olympics are game on, although now the the World Health Organization is stepping in.
From MSNBC:
The World Health Organization said Thursday it is advising the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and that no decision has been made to cancel the major sporting event in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
“To my understanding, no decision has or will be taken in the near term regarding the future of the Olympics,” Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said on a call with reporters. He said that WHO is working “extremely closely” with event organizers and is providing them with risk assessment and management advice.
He added that other mass gatherings, including the Olympics and the Special Olympics, proceeded during the outbreaks of Zika and SARS. “If you cast your mind back to those events, many of those events went ahead with appropriate risk management,” he said.
It seems the Japanese, however, aren’t taking any chances when it comes to the future population of the Asian nation:
From Japan Times:
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday asked all elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide to close from Monday through the students’ spring break, which typically ends in early April.
“Efforts have been made to prevent the spread of infection among children in each region, and these one or two weeks will be an extremely critical period,” Abe told a meeting of key Cabinet ministers on the coronavirus outbreak crisis.
“The government attaches the top priority to the health and safety of children, among others,” he said.
So it seems on the one hand, Japan is being extra cautious, and on the other hand, the show must go on?
In other words, when it comes to the Olympics, there really are no good choices, so for now, everybody is just kind of playing “wait-n-see”.
Meanwhile, here’s Japan’s confirmed cases as of the 12:23 p.m. update on the Johns Hopkins tracker:
The US State Department currently has a Level 2 travel advisory to Japan.
Which means be sure to wash your hands after using the restroom:
Meanwhile, China has been at Level 4 for some time:
