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		</div><p>Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics are trying to shoot down rumours that this year’s Games might be cancelled or postponed because of the spread of coronavirus.</p>
<p>Japan has so far reported no deaths from the virus that has killed more than 200 people in China.</p>
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<p>Organisers have hesitated to say much for several days, but on Friday they addressed the rumours, as did the International Olympic Committee.</p>
<p>The Olympics open on July 24, just under six months away.</p>
<figure id="attachment_148771" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-148771" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-148771" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/AF8B4E1F-E6E6-47CD-9163-74740BA4B984.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-148771" class="wp-caption-text">An ambulance carrying evacuees from China, arrives at Ebara Hospital in Tokyo</figcaption></figure>
<p>“We have never discussed cancelling the games,” Tokyo organisers said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with the IOC and relevant organisations and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary.”</p>
<p>Rumours of a cancellation have spread in Japan with reports that the Swiss-based IOC has met the World Health Organisation about the outbreak. The WHO has called the virus a global emergency.</p>
<p>“Preparations for Tokyo 2020 continue as planned,” the IOC said in a statement. “It is normal practice for the IOC to collaborate with all the main UN agencies, as necessary, in the lead-up to the Games and this naturally includes the WHO.”</p>
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<p>Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, speaking earlier in the week to the heads of 62 municipalities, warned about the dangers of the outbreak. Japan has also urged citizens not to travel to China.</p>
<p>“We must firmly tackle the new coronavirus to contain it, or we are going to regret it,” she said.</p>
<figure id="attachment_148770" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-148770" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-148770" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DBADBCEF-9559-4D28-BB3F-80F429955D1A.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-148770" class="wp-caption-text">Morning rush hour in Tokyo</figcaption></figure>
<p>Rumours have spread online with thousands of comments on Twitter under the hashtag in Japanese “Tokyo Olympic Cancelled”.</p>
<p>The IOC has faced challenges like this before, and carries insurance for such possibilities. It has cancelled Olympics during wartime, and faced boycotts in 1980 and 1984. It also held the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, months after the 9/11 attacks in the US.</p>
<p>The mosquito-borne Zika virus also cast a shadow over the run-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.</p>
<p>The larger problem for the Olympics could come with qualifying events in China and elsewhere being cancelled or postponed. International federations will have to reschedule events and Chinese athletes could present extra challenges and screening.</p>
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<p>World Athletics, the governing body of track and field, announced earlier in the week it was postponing the world indoor championships in Nanjing, China, until next year. The event had been scheduled for March 13-15.</p>
<p>Travel, screening and allaying fears are certain to be more complicated if the outbreak continues. The 11,000 athletes expected to compete at the Tokyo Olympics will also face pressure to stay safe.</p>
<p>Sponsors and television networks who have invested billions of pounds will also try to keep the Games on track.</p>
<p>Demand for Olympic tickets in Japan is unprecedented, exceeding supply by at least 10 times. Organisers say 7.8 million tickets are being issued.</p>
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<p>Organisers say they are spending about £96 billion to put on the Games, but a national audit bureau says the full cost is twice that figure.</p>
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