In a major cause of concern for the Tokyo Olympics’ organisers, nearly 10,000 volunteers for the shopwpiece event have quit due to concern over coronavirus infections in the host nation.
Commenting on the development, Organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto told reporters: “There is no doubt that one of the reasons is the concern over coronavirus infections,.”
Although the Olympic organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have vowed to stage safe Games, there has been protest from the locals, asking for the cancellation or portponement of the event.
Another reason pointed by the organisers for the withdrawal is the Games’ postponement by a year, which will now start on July 23.
Earlier, around 1,000 volunteers had withdrawn in protest against the sexist comments by former organising committee president Yoshiro Mori, who resigned following the scandal.
The 10,000 withdrawals are from the 80,000 volunteers for the event however, organisers believed that the issue will not be a hurdle due to the absence of foreign fans.