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Law360 (March 3, 2020, 9:08 PM EST ) The International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that it is still planning to hold the summer Olympics in Japan this summer despite growing concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 virus, particularly in Japan, where there are more than 200 confirmed cases.
The IOC and its executive board "expressed full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo," scheduled for July 24 to August 9, in a statement Tuesday. The organization, which oversees the Olympic games, said it has already formed a "joint task force" with Tokyo 2020 organizers, the governments of Tokyo and Japan and the World Health Organization.
"For us, the games are going ahead on the 24th of July and we confidently expect to deliver them on that date," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told reporters Tuesday. "All the advice we have been given is that that can go ahead from the WHO and other organizations who are competent."
In its statement, the IOC said it "will continue to follow the advice of WHO, as the leading United Nations agency on this topic."
"All stakeholders continue to work closely together to address the challenges of the coronavirus. The IOC EB encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," it added.
But Japan's Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto on Tuesday told the country's parliament, according to multiple reports, that there was a possibility that the games would be postponed.
There are growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, particularly across Eastern Asia, raising questions about whether international sporting events should continue.
Japan has had 254 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six deaths as of Monday, according to figures released by the WHO. The organization reports 88,948 global cases of the virus as of Monday, including 80,174 cases and 2,915 deaths in China alone, where the outbreak began.
"Containment remains the top priority for all countries," the WHO said.
On Friday, the WHO upgraded its global risk assessment of the outbreak to "very high" — the highest level of its four-stage alert system.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, originally scheduled for this month were postponed until next March by the governing body for the sport in January.
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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