COVID-19: Shinzo Abe suggests postponing Tokyo Olympics

ANKARA

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed postponing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the world grapples with the impact of coronavirus, according to Tokyo-based news outlet Kyodo News.

Abe “held telephone talks Tuesday with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, with a potential postponement of the Tokyo Olympics this summer likely on the agenda as the coronavirus pandemic continues,'' Kyodo reported on Tuesday.

''Abe was expected to tell Bach that if the games are postponed, they should be rescheduled within less than 12 months, a Japanese government source said,'' said the outlet.

In a parliamentary session on Monday, Abe suggested the games’ postponement, as the event cannot be take place under the current circumstances.

"If it is difficult to hold the games in a complete way, we have to decide to postpone it, giving top priority to [the health of the] athletes," he said.

The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 169 countries and regions around the globe.

The tally of confirmed cases is almost 384,000.

So far nearly 102,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered from the disease.