Advisory won't affect travel to Tokyo Games, says US body

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee on Monday said that the US' elevated travel warning to Japan due to the country's Covid-19 situation will not affect the visit of its delegation to the Tokyo Games.

This comes after the US State Department yesterday raised its travel advisory for Japan by one notch to "Do Not Travel," the highest on its four-tier scale.

In a statement, the USOPC said that it feels confident that the current mitigation practices in place for athletes and staff by both the USOPC and the Tokyo Organizing Committee will allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes this summer.

It mentions that the practices include testing before travel, on arrival in Japan, and during the Games.

According to Kyodo News, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a parliamentary committee in Tokyo that he has heard from the US government that the decision and the dispatch of US athletes are not related.

"Travel (from the United States to Japan) is not banned when it is necessary," he said. "I know that there is no change whatsoever in the US position that it will support the Japanese government's decision to realize the Olympics and Paralympics."

The State Department said the upgrade of its advisory by one level reflected the travel health notice by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has labeled Japan as facing a "very high level of COVID-19."

"Because of the current situation in Japan, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan," the CDC said, further reported.

Olympics are set to be held in Tokyo in July 23. The Olympics were already postponed once due to the pandemic.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, the country registered 718,864 confirmed cases and 12,312 deaths till yesterday (Monday). As of May 15, a total of 5,593,436 vaccine doses have been administered in the country.

( With inputs from ANI )

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