Nagano bars fans from parts of torch relay as COVID precaution Apr. 1 06:00 am JST Apr. 1 | 02:27 pm JST TOKYO
Nagano Prefecture barred spectators from parts of the Olympic torch relay on Thursday to prevent large groups from gathering after its capital city raised its COVID-19 alert level following a recent rise in infections.
No spectators will be present when the last relay runner of the day brings in the torch and lights the Olympic cauldron in Nagano City, the prefecture said.
Spectators would also be barred from a section of road in Nagano City that was expected to attract large numbers of people, while the city s elderly and those with underlying conditions were urged to avoid watching from roadsides.
Osaka prefectural governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said on Thursday the Olympic torch relay in the city of Osaka should be cancelled amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.
WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
By Reuters Published: Apr 01, 2021 07:23 PM Osaka prefectural governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Thursday the Olympic torch relay in the city of Osaka should be canceled amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.
Yoshimura had sounded the alarm the previous day that a jump in new coronavirus cases in Osaka was raising fears the western Japanese metropolis was entering a fresh wave of infections that could become its worst yet.
The prefecture, which had just emerged from a COVID-19 state of emergency a month ago, reported 599 new cases on Wednesday. That was a jump from 432 on Tuesday and near the all-time high of 654 set on January 8.
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