Olympia and Corona: Happiness and frustration increase risk

In the Olympic city of Tokyo, the number of epidemics continues to rise. One problem: many no longer follow the rules – athletes from the joy of medals, spectators on the streets from the frustration of epidemics.

According to one expert, the Olympics threaten to indirectly lead to an increase in the number of corona infections. Koichi Nakano, a political professor at Sofia University in Tokyo, told the DPA that participants in the Olympics were not the main issue. On the contrary, at a time when people are increasingly “frustrated” by the Corona emergency, it is true that games are actually taking place, which lasts again and again.

“People are getting impatient”

“People are impatient and stop listening to the government,” Nagano said, citing the previous day’s bike races as an example. I could see a lot of spectators on the side of the road, sometimes they were standing in several rows along the way.

On Sunday, 1,763 new infections were reported in Tokyo within 24 hours, up from 1,128 the previous day. This means that the number of new infections is more than 1000 cases for six consecutive days. Last Thursday the figure was 1979, the highest since January.

Before the games, the majority of people spoke out against the games. But now that the games have started, some people say, “There is no point in resisting. Now you can support the games,” Nakano said. “This is a very common Japanese way of thinking,” said the political scientist.

In addition, virtually all television stations were acquired by the Olympics as a result of the massive influence of the Japanese advertising agency Denzu, which also offers advertising space as exclusive marketing partners for sports. Their passion is to win citizens at the Olympics by constantly spraying. The result was an interest in sports, and despite all government appeals, many citizens did not stay at home, but rather wanted to enjoy it as closely as possible as they did in the Olympic bike races.

Hundreds of crackers

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the stadium for the opening ceremony and looked at the crackers, although they were not allowed inside the stadium. Nagano fears that infections will increase drastically in the next few days. The fact that the numbers are low at this time means that there are no tests on holidays and weekends. Be the person who “tells his children not to smoke” with a smoker, with the government’s request to stay home.

Violation of rules at celebrations

However, there are problems not only outside the sports facilities but also inside. After turning off the need for a mask at the Olympic medal ceremonies in swimming, the organizers of the games were reminded to comply with the rules of the corona. “Whoever you are, we urge everyone to abide by the rules,” said Mark Adams, a spokesman for the International Olympic Committee.

After the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay, teams from Australia, Canada and the United States did not wear masks on stage and could be seen hugging. There were similar scenes at the awards ceremony after the men’s 400m medley. “This is not a friendly request, but an obligation to everyone involved in the game,” IOC spokesman Adams said.

Extensive manuals on corona rules for summer games in Japan are called playbooks and are heard by everyone in the Olympic environment. “We understand the happy excitement and feeling for the athletes, but unfortunately we had to tighten the rules. This news is not only for the athletes, it is reaffirmed again and again,” Adams stressed.

132 positive cases in the context of games

The number of positive tests in the game has risen to 132 since registration began on July 1st. Organizers have confirmed two more cases of athletes, and there have been ten more positive tests in the context of the recent Olympics.

According to the announcement, one of the affected athletes is a Dutch player. The Orange team had already confirmed the Corona case of 21 – year – old Finn Florig on Saturday. In the German team, cyclist Simon Keschke suffered from corona disease for the first time on the opening day.

Keshke criticizes isolated conditions

Keshke is currently in isolation at a hotel in Tokyo. Berliners must spend a maximum of ten days there. He was overtaken by the opening hurdle the day before the 234-kilometer race to the Olympics on Saturday. He criticized the isolated conditions in the tweets as torture.

However, Germany’s mission leader Dirk Simmelpennick found no reason for the general uncertainty. “I didn’t notice any fear in the athletes after this incident,” he said. It is reassuring for “everyone on Team D” that the case took place in a small group outside the Olympic Village.

“We noticed it, but we didn’t deal with it,” said Triathlon sports director George Faulkner. “Of course it’s hard for cyclists. Anything else would be shiny,” said DOSB President Alphonse Harmon. Its main feature is that it is “not a burden to the team, but the stabilization of epidemic management”. But it is important to be aware of the dangers “until the last day”.