U.S. Warns Against Travel To Japan Ahead Of Summer Olympics, But Organizers Press On With Games

After a one-year delay caused by COVID-19, the summer Olympics are set to begin on July 23.

Or maybe not.

“Hospitals in Japan are on the brink of collapse amid a huge influx of Covid cases — just eight weeks before the country is due to host the Olympics,” The Sun reported. “The highly infectious British variant and slipping alertness have led to this explosive growth in the number of patients,” Yuji Tohda, the director of Kindai University Hospital in Osaka, told the paper, adding, that “simply put, this is a collapse of the medical system.”

Now, the U.S. is advising against traveling to Japan, even for those who have been fully vaccinated.

The State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday both issued warnings. “Travelers should avoid all travel to Japan,” the CDC alert reads. The alert — headlined “Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19 in Japan” — says, “Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan.”

The State Department issued a similar alert.

“Do not travel to Japan due to COVID-19,” the department said. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Japan due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. There are restrictions in place affecting U.S. citizen entry to Japan.”

More than 722,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Japan, resulting in 12,351 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

But so far, the Olympics appear to still be on for U.S. athletes. The United States Olympics & Paralympic Committee said in a statement Monday that it believes American athletes can travel to Tokyo and compete safely.

“We feel confident that the current mitigation practices in place for athletes and staff by both the USOPC and the Tokyo Organizing Committee, coupled with the testing before travel, on arrival in Japan, and during Games time, will allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes this summer,” the committee said.

While estimates say just 2% of the country’s residents have been vaccinated, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has vowed to inoculate 36 million elderly residents by the end of July.

And Olympic organizers say the event won’t be canceled, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. “On Friday, John Coates, the head of the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics, said around 80% of athletes and officials were set to be vaccinated, and strict restrictions on movement would prevent contact with the public.”

“I can say it’s now clearer than ever that these Games will be safe for everyone participating, and importantly safe for the people of Japan,” Mr. Coates told the paper.

Joseph Curl covered the White House for a dozen years and ran the Drudge Report for four years. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @JosephCurl.