TOKYO (Reuters) – The Osaka leg of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay will not run on public roads, the organising committee announced in a statement on Wednesday, due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the area that triggered a medical state of emergency.
“Tokyo 2020 will arrange for the Osaka segment of the relay to be run in the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park,” a 260 hectare park managed by Osaka prefecture, without any spectators during the event, the statement said.
The western prefecture of Osaka declared a medical state of emergency, asking residents to stay home and avoid unnecessary outings, and counted a record high of 878 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
