“If that is difficult, we would have no choice but to decide to postpone with athletes in the first priority,” Abe said, adding that canceling the Tokyo Games altogether is not an option. Therefore also the IOC can unfortunately not answer all your questions.”The letter didn’t stop the calls for an Olympic postponement. As they publicly encouraged athletes to continue training for this summer, Olympic officials privately discussed holding the Summer Games without spectators or rescheduling the event for a later date. “These are extraordinary and unprecedented times, and we fully support the IOC’s decision to step up its scenario-planning for the Tokyo Olympics,” an NBC spokesman said in a statement Sunday. “We are prepared to stand behind any decision made by the IOC, the Japanese government, and the world health officials with whom they are working regarding the Tokyo Olympics.”

Source: Washington Post March 22, 2020 18:54 UTC