Will Japan cancel the 2020 Olympics? | CoronaVirus raises concerns at Tokyo Olympics | Covid-19

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The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics pushed back on "speculation" that the novel coronavirus epidemic could lead to the cancellation of the Summer Games, after an IOC official appeared to suggest otherwise.

Concern is growing over the impact of the coronavirus on the Olympic Games after new cases in Japan were confirmed and the domestic top-flight football competition was called off until next month.

A senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said outright cancellation of the Games, rather than postponement or relocation, would be likely if the disease proved too dangerous for the event – which is scheduled to start on 24 July – to go ahead.

The viral outbreak that began in China two months ago has infected more than 80,000 people globally and killed over 2,700, the vast majority of them in China. But the virus has gained a foothold in South Korea, the Middle East and Europe, raising fears of a pandemic. Japan itself has reported four deaths.