Olympic chief: 'Let me be clear - we will not cancel Tokyo 2020 due to coronavirus'

ByEurosport

Updated 13/02/2020 at 11:13 GMT

Olympic organisers have dismissed concerns the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in neighbouring China.

The virus has already impacted sporting events, with the World Athletics Championships in Nanjing and Chinese F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai among those postponed.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series were moved from April to October on Thursday due to the outbreak.

"I would like to make it clear again that we are not considering a cancellation or postponement of the games. Let me make that clear," organising committee president Yoshiro Mori said, via an interpreter, to IOC officials in Tokyo.

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Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori (R)

Image credit: Getty Images

The death toll in China rose to above 1,350 on Wednesday, while there are nearly 60,000 confirmed cases of the disease. However, only two deaths have been recorded outside of China – and none in Japan.

The Tokyo Games run from July 24 to August 9, while the Olympic torch relay begins in Japan next month.

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