FILE PHOTO: Tokyo 2020 Games Operations Bureau Deputy Executive Director Yasuo Mori speaks during a news conference organised by "Hokkaido Sapporo marathon Festival 2021" prior to the half-marathon race of tomorrow which doubles as a test event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in Sapporo, Japan May 4, 2021. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS
SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) - Tokyo Olympic organisers acknowledged on Tuesday that Sapporo residents were concerned about a marathon test event being held in the northern Japanese city amid a rise in COVID-19 cases and said they were implementing measures to hold the event safely.
The marathon test event - actually a half-marathon and a 10K race - will be held on Tuesday starting from Sapporo's Odori park. Yasuo Mori, Tokyo 2020's deputy executive director of the Games operations bureau, addressed the concerns amid a record rise in coronavirus infections in the city. "We are fully aware (Sapporo) residents feel uneasy with the current situation, and we are carrying out various steps as we want to prepare for an event where people can feel even a little bit more at ease," Mori told a news conference. In Hokkaido, new daily cases hit a record 326 on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK reported. The prefecture plans to call for stronger anti-virus measures in Sapporo including shorter restaurant hours and for more people to work from home.
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