Thread by @techreview

🧵 Covid at the #Olympics is inevitable. The games are happening anyway—and organizers hope to prevent a surge.
technologyreview.com/2021/07/15/102…

The Olympic and Paralympic games are set to begin on July 23 in Tokyo, where covid-19 cases are rising, prompting the city to announce its fourth state of emergency since the start of the pandemic.

The rising caseload is especially troubling because the country’s vaccination rate remains low, with just 18% of Japan’s population fully vaccinated.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Nevertheless the IOC is pressing on. At stake are billions of dollars in sunk costs—Tokyo’s Olympic stadium alone cost $1.4 billion—as well as billions more in potential revenue for the IOC, Japan, local organizers, and broadcasters.
cbssports.com/olympics/news/…

Nearly 100,000 athletes, staff and family members, and others are expected to enter Japan for the Olympic and Paralympic games, and organizers say they’re trying their best to keep them safe.

But despite stringent rules set in place by the IOC, the games will inevitably mean people mixing and interacting in ways that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

“It’s not just the event itself, it’s everything else associated with the event: the hotels, the restaurants, the means of transportation,” says @linseymarr, professor at @virginia_tech and leading expert in the airborne transmission of viruses.

READ @MiaRSato’s full story on how organizers are preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, and what the games could mean for the nation’s covid cases.
technologyreview.com/2021/07/15/102…

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