The IOC has said it will follow the guidance of the World Health Organization, which has yet to make recommendations for later in the summer. Dick Pound, a longstanding member of the IOC, said earlier this week that the organization has a few more months before it has to make a final decision on the fate of the games or on any remedial measures. Pound’s comments are not the IOC’s official view, according to Japan’s Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto.
If the outbreak subsides within the next few months, when some experts think the coming summer heat will finish it off, the virus could still cast a pall over the games.
As of now, it’s not clear whether even people who want to go will be able to. Government and corporate restrictions have dramatically curtailed travel in Asia. China has banned tour groups going overseas to contain the virus, while the U.S. raised its travel alerts for Japan and Israel warned its citizens from nonessential travel to the country.
--With assistance from Yoshiaki Nohara and Tracy Alloway.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.