With the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga formally declared, a new state of emergency for the city of Tokyo due to a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases.
The new decree which will come into effect from July 12, will last till August 22— a period that will cover up the entire duration of the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8).
With the new state of emergency, the government is likely to reduce the number of spectators allowed to witness the tournament to 5,000 or ban them altogether. Last month, the Olympic organizers had announced that it will allow 10,000 spectators or 50 per cent of the stadium capacity to attend the games.
Foreign spectators had already been banned from attending the Olympics.
In April, Japan had declared a third state of emergency in the prefectures of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo. Last month all of them were then moved into the "quasi-emergency" measures, which are set to expire on July 11.
The Government of Tokyo had also announced that the iconic torch relay will be moved off city's public roads. The Olympic organizers have also requested the public to not to gather on the streets to witness the marathon races which will staged in the final days.
The Olympics was originally scheduled to be hosted in 2020 but was later postponed to 2021 to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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