Games panel deputy head contracts coronavirus
TOKYO: Japan Olympic Committee Deputy Chief Kozo Tashima said on Tuesday he had contracted coronavirus, as doubts increase over whether Tokyo can safely host the Summer Games.
“Today, my test result showed positive for the new coronavirus,” Tashima said in a statement, issued via the Japan Football Association, which he also heads.
“I have a mild fever. Examinations showed a symptom of pneumonia, but I’m fine. I will concentrate on treatment following doctors’ advice,” he said.
Japanese officials insist that the summer Games — due to start in July — will take place as scheduled despite rising speculation that it might be postponed or even cancelled due to the virus.
Tashima said he had been on a business trip since February 28, first heading to Belfast to attend the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
From March 2, he visited Amsterdam for a Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) meeting to give a presentation on Japan’s bid for the 2023 women’s World Cup.
And on March 3, he attended a general meeting of the same body.
“In Amsterdam and in Europe in early March, the level of nervousness against the novel coronavirus was not the same as now,” he said in the statement.
“Everyone was still doing hugs, handshakes and bises (cheek kissing).”
He then travelled to the United States to watch the Japanese women’s team in action and to lobby for the women’s World Cup, before returning home on March 8.