The head of the Olympic committee Thomas Bach will visit Japan in May as the nation struggles to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases before the start of the Games, with Pfizer agreeing to supply extra vaccine doses to the country.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, will attend a torch relay ceremony in the western city of Hiroshima on 17 May and will be expected to meet prime minister Yoshihide Suga the next day.
The IOC boss is expected to second Japan’s commitment to safely host the summer games which are due to start in late July after being postponed from last year because of the pandemic.
With less than 100 days until the Olympics are due to start in Tokyo, Japan expanded quasi-emergency measures to 10 regions on Friday as a fourth wave of Covid-19 cases spread.
Japan, with its domestic vaccine development still in early stages, has to rely on imports and has signed agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine is the only one Japan has approved so far.
Japan’s government says it has secured 314 million doses, enough to cover its entire population by the end of this year. That includes 144 million doses from Pfizer.
The Japanese government is hopeful that a significant number of its citizens would have received the jab by the time the Olympic games begin since the rise in the Covid 19 cases is a big threat to the entire country as opinions have been put across to halt the Tokyo Olympic games in July.
However the IOC President has assured the Japanese citizens of strict Covid 19 measures and protocols to be adhered to by the organisers while conducting the games in Tokyo.The pandemic has served a huge blow to the organisers of the event as they were forced to push the games from last year into mid this year.