Virus spike may mean fanfree Games

TOKYO — Japan is set to place Tokyo under a state of emergency that would last through the Olympics, fearing an ongoing COVID19 surge will multiply during the Games.

At a meeting with experts Thursday morning, government officials proposed a plan to issue a state of emergency in Tokyo from Monday to Aug. 22. The Summer Olympics, delayed a year by the pandemic, officially begin July 23 and close Aug. 8.

The Games already will take place without foreign spectators, but the planned sixweek state of emergency likely ends chances of a local audience. A decision about fans was expected later Thursday when local organizers were set to meet with the International Olympic Committee and other representatives.

Tokyo is currently under lessstringent measures that focus on shortened hours for bars and restaurants but have proved less effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was to formally announce the emergency plans later Thursday, hours after IOC President Thomas Bach was to land in Tokyo. Bach must selfisolate for three days in the IOC’s hotel in Tokyo before heading to Hiroshima, where heavy rain is threatening flooding.

The upcoming emergency will be the fourth for Tokyo since the pandemic began.

A main focus of the emergency is a request for bars, restaurants and karaoke parlors serving alcohol to close. A ban on serving alcohol is a key step to tone down Olympicrelated festivities and keep people from drinking and partying.

Tokyo reported 920 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, up from 714 last week, and could hit 1,000 before the Games and spike into thousands in August.