The Impact COVID-19 May Have On The Summer Olympics

The 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics have already been delayed a year since COVID had started to shut the world down in the months prior to its start date. We have taken large steps in the past few months in the battle against COVID, but the Delta strain is the latest worry. It has caused a spike in cases, and has brought the case numbers in Japan to a 6 month high, one week before the Olympics. What does this mean for athletes and fans?

The Olympics are supposed to start on July 23, and the Olympics are a fear inducing factor in a possible greater surge in cases. Japan has done fairly well with their fight against the virus, and they certainly don’t want to see a large surge in cases. ESPN states that, “Japan’s slow vaccination rollout has improved dramatically since May as the government desperately pushes to improve the inoculation rate before the Olympics, but is slowing again due to shortages of imported vaccines. The latest government data show just 19.7% of the population has been fully vaccinated.”

Japan has already stated that there will be very few fans allowed at the Olympic games, with a few exceptions. Hopefully by the next Winter Olympics, we have no reason to worry about any potential shut down and fans can happily watch the games once again.