MYSC at ease with safety of athletes ahead of Tokyo
The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development ( MYSC) has made assurance that they are monitoring the Olympics situation in Japan. This comes after some campaigns in the hosting country to once again cancel the events.
“The ministry is monitoring the situation very closely. Currently, there is no change, and we expect the games to go ahead. However, we believe both the
Government of Japan and the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) will make the right decision on hosting of the games,” Chief Public Relations Officer at MYSC, Thobo Tlhasana has indicated.
However, the concern for the national team safety has also been registered locally. The national athletics team, amongst them the potential Tokyo bound, has had its share in positive Covid cases, which had jumped to about 5 by April, before the scare was contained. This has added
to the question, why the Tokyo bound athletes have not been vaccinated yet. With Olympics set for the 23rd of July until the 8th of August, expectation was that local athletes will head to the games after getting their vaccine shots. With Botswana having already received two consignments of the vaccine, there was expectation that the BNOC would push for the athletes to be prioritised.
MYSC has however, confirmed that they have indeed received pleas for rollout plans for vaccination
of athletes. “The ministry has received the proposal for Team Botswana to be vaccinated ahead of the games and this is receiving favourable consideration,” shared Tlhasana without giving much detail.
After closure of qualification, the team is set for international training camps abroad as well as leaving early for Japan for acclimatization purposes. When quizzed if they are not worried that they will be putting local athletes at risk if they go ahead with scheduled travels, BNOC Strategy and Business Development Manager Baboni Khupe said:
“We are alarmed and concerned by the current outbreak of the new variant of COVID- 19. We continue to follow guidelines provided by the District Heath Management Team ( DHMT) and COVID- 19 Task Team with respect to travel. Our utmost priority is the health and safety of our athletes, and as such we shall endeavour to follow all protocols with respect to external travel, including to the Tokyo games,” she said.