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The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Thursday released guidelines against COVID-19 for the Olympic torch relay scheduled to take place nationwide in Japan in March.
Organizers suggested that runners check and record their temperatures on a daily basis in the two weeks leading up to the event, and refrain from dining with anyone in that period.
The relay was first scheduled for March 2020 but was called off at the last minute as the coronavirus swept through Japan. The pandemic also forced organizers to postpone the Olympic Games, which has never happened before.
This time, the relay will begin in Fukushima on March 25 and carry the torch to 859 municipalities in all 47 of the country's prefectures in 121 days.
However, not everyone supports the plan. For example, Governor Tatsuya Maruyama of Shimane prefecture requested Tokyo to come up with more aggressive countermeasures against COVID-19 or cancel the relay.
That, understandably, led the organizing committee to formulate the relevant policies.
COVID-19 protocols for the torch relay are just one of the thorny problems facing organizers. The committee just welcomed a new chief, seven-time Olympian Seiko Hashimoto, after her predecessor, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, resigned over controversial remarks about women.
One of the consequences was the departure of over 1,000 volunteers, according to Japan's national broadcaster NHK. A committee on gender equality was created by organizers as part of the efforts to fix the problem.
"Gender equality and women's empowerment is going to be something that is going to be promoted," said Hashimoto at a press conference on Wednesday.
The International Olympic Committee will decide in April or early May whether to allow spectators in the venues during the Olympics, according to Nikkei.
(CGTN)
