IOC face 'big communications job' as it gears up for Tokyo 2020

A torchbearer and actress Satomi Ishihara (right), one of the official ambassadors of the Tokyo 2020 torch relay, posing with the olympic torch during a rehearsal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay in Tokyo on Saturday (Feb 15). IOC has confirmed the Games will go on as scheduled in July. - AFP

TOKYO: Olympic chiefs admitted on Saturday (Feb 15) they face a "very big communications job" to soothe concerns over the coronavirus epidemic in the run-up to this summer's Tokyo Games.

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) coordination commission insisted there was no danger of Tokyo 2020 being cancelled or moved, despite fears over the fast-spreading virus which has killed nearly 1,400 and infected around 64,000 -- most of them in China.