The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo may be called off should the number of coronavirus cases around the world continue to rise, according to a senior member of the International Olympic Committee.
… While the sporting event is currently scheduled to start July 24, organizers have started to worry about the fate of the Games if the coronavirus outbreak cannot be contained by its opening date.
… Dick Pound — a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978 — told the Associated Press on Tuesday that officials will likely cancel the Games — rather than to postpone or move it — if the epidemic continues to spread by late May.
… There have only been five Olympics canceled in modern history — all of which were abandoned due to the onset of a world war. The last time the Games were called off was during World War II.
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