Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori attended a meeting on March 10 that included the deputy head of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) who tested positive for the new coronavirus this week, officials said.
Mori, who is 82 and has lung cancer, has not been tested because he has no symptoms of the virus and does not meet testing requirements, an official from Mori’s office said.
Mori and JOC deputy head Kozo Tashima attended a board meeting regarding the Rugby World Cup. Tashima tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
At the meeting, about 60 people were in a room and Mori was seated about 10 metres away from Tashima on the opposite side of the table, according to Jun Kusumoto, a spokesman for the Rugby World Cup organising committee.
Local health authorities have contacted those believed to be at risk of contracting the virus from Tashima but that does not include Mori, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee told Reuters.
“He goes to hospital three times a week for dialysis, so if he develops fever or has other symptoms, a doctor will be able to test for it,” the official from Mori’s office said.
Doubts are mounting that the Olympics can proceed as planned given disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but Tokyo Games and Japanese government officials have said the event will go ahead as scheduled and will not be held behind closed doors.
Deputy governor of Saitama prefecture Hiroshi Iijima, who also attended the meeting, decided to self-quarantine and will not return to work until March 23, Ryoji Hiraiwa, a prefectural official said.
Iijima does not have any coronavirus-related symptoms and tested negative after taking a test on Wednesday, he added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Mori on March 16, without providing details.
He did not directly address a question about whether Abe will test for the virus.
“Health centres are taking the necessary measures once people test positive for the coronavirus, including identifying who has been in contact with them,” Suga said.
SAFA suspends all football matches
Locally, the President of the South African Football Association (SAFA) Danny Jordaan says no football matches will be played in the country between now and April 4 to try and control the spread of the.
SAFA reiterates position to suspend all football https://t.co/t3rwtQdy1c @SAFA_net @BafanaBafana @SasolSA @SasolLeague @Banyana_Banyana
— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) March 18, 2020
Jordaan says it will not be safe to even consider playing football matches behind closed doors.
Earlier this week, Premier Soccer League (PSL) chair Irvin Khoza announced the cancellation of all matches for the week, pending the outcome of a Board of Governors meeting set for Thursday.
BREAKING:
PSL Chairman Dr Irvin Khoza has announced that the PSL Extra Ordinary Executive Committee meeting today resolved to suspend ALL football fixtures this week until further notice. pic.twitter.com/6qQf6uSlEF
— Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) March 16, 2020
Jordaan says several matches were played behind closed doors in Europe recently, but that exercise backfired.
“We see that we have inadequate provision for the protection of the player’s health that we should precede. Our position is that all matches must be postponed until we find a clear solution and most of the leagues say the fourth of April, we will make a further assessment.”
On the video below, PSL briefs the media on coronavirus:
Banning in line with the President’s decision
SAFA’s chief medical officer Thulani Ngwenya says the decision to stop all football activities in the country is in line with the announcement made by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.
“The state President has made SAFA to come to a position of suspending all football activities. The call is to curb or stop the spread of coronavirus because prevention is better than cure, and at the moment we are scared that we might not be in a position to deal with this if first world countries are really having difficulties in dealing with this matter.”
Comrades clarifies position on 2020 race after criticism from Minister Mthethwa
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has defended its stance on the 2020 race which it said on Tuesday, via a statement, remains on schedule for June 14 – pending a review meeting in four weeks.
Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa criticised the organisation on Tuesday, calling the decision a “terrible and irresponsible” declaration.
Mthethwa felt the CMA’s stance undermined government’s efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak that’s currently gripping the world.
Numerous events across all sporting codes have either been suspended or cancelled.
However in an e-mail to the SABC, CMA chairperson Cheryl Winn said “there appeared to be a misunderstanding perhaps related to misleading media reports” on the matter.
In the audio below, Winn says no final decision on the Comrades has been taken:
150 South Africans have been infected with the coronavirus.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the virus, also known as COVID-19, a “national disaster”.
