Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said Friday that a five-party meeting including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be convened Monday to decide on the upper limit of spectators to be allowed at the Tokyo Games.
"Taking into account calls for stricter measures at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we need to come to a decision through thorough deliberations," Hashimoto said at a press conference in Tokyo.
"As long as there are people who want to see events [live at venues], it will be the task of the organizing committee to continue until the end to find out to what extent we can eliminate risks."
Hashimoto was speaking after receiving a proposal from the government's advisory panel on the coronavirus, which recommends banning spectators from venues.
"Holding the Tokyo Games without spectators is desirable," Shigeru Omi, chairman of the government's COVID-19 advisory panel, said at a press conference earlier Friday. "As the next-best option, spectators should be limited to only local residents."
The organizing committee on the same day met to unveil a draft of guidelines for spectators to follow.
In addition to monitoring their health signs via a smartphone app prior to attending a competition, the guidelines call for spectators to limit their movements to just traveling directly from their home to the venue and back, without stopping anywhere along the way, and to stagger the times they arrive.
The committee is also considering incorporating penalties -- even ejection from the venue -- for those caught violating such rules as bans against vocal cheering or shouting.
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