Fans potentially banned from Olympics; Tokyo declared under state of emergency

UPDATE: Fans will be banned from the Tokyo area’s stadiums and arenas when the Olympic Games begin in two weeks- this means that the Olympics will be a TV-only event with the Japanese government losing hundreds of millions in ticket revenue.

TOKYO (AP) — Fans are likely to be banned from the Tokyo Olympics following a state of emergency aimed at slowing rising COVID-19 infections announced for the capital by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

The extent of the ban was to be announced later by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers. Fans from abroad were banned several months ago, and these new measures could clear venues — indoor and outdoor — of any fans at all.

This emergency declaration made for a rude arrival in Japan for IOC President Thomas Bach, who landed in Tokyo on Thursday just hours before the new measures were announced. He is to spend three days in self-isolation at the five-star hotel that lodges IOC members.