kill the olympics

[dtoc]

Ed posted a piece suggesting that the 2021 Olympics should be cancelled due to "high" covid case rates in Japan.

Japan has managed Covid so well that a small increase suddenly is creating an outsized response.

California only got below the per capita rate of Japan's spike last week but has long been considered as being "ready to open".  The CA spike was about 22 times higher (2200%) of the highest Japanese spike.

Is Covid really an issue in Japan for vaccinated Olympians or is something else at play here?

 

[Editor]

very well could be. let's hope you are correct.

 

[AnotherSailor]

Japan is currently in one of the worst spikes it has seen as a country. Not sure if the 22 times is accurate, but I think the families of the 200,000+ death folks might still not consider this as "so well" that they can have a major sports event... I read pleas of medical doctors to not hold the olympics. 

I don't have the right answer, but I will say it is much less trivial ... 

 

[Sail4beer]

With only 12,000+ deaths in Japan so far, why would they want to open their border to a national health risk of massive proportion? They contained it so well compared to other countries that I would say as a nation “No thank you. We do not desire to become a host for another competition-for our lives.”

YMMV

 

[crashtack]

Right. Just to be safe, we should cancel the 2022 olympics and 2024 ones too. Who knows what sort of diseases will be around then! Gosh golly, just shut the whole world down until........ idk, something.

 

[Rum Runner]

Last I saw was that fewer than 2% of Japanese have been vaccinated. That is very low for a developed country. Hospitals are full with Covid patients. On top of that, many Japanese think the games should be cancelled due to all the problems. It is just the tone deaf Olympics officials and a few politicians who want the games to go on.  

 

[IPLore]

Japan, a nation of 126 million +/- but only 2-4% vaccinated is suggesting keeping out 20,000 +/- athletes , coaches and officials who will be at a minimum 80% vaccinated and restricted to the bubble of Olympic Village and stadiums , with strict testing before and during the event.

We are talking about 0.003% .  4,000 un-vaccinated visitors compared to 121 million un-vaccinated hosts.

The greater risk is to the athletes from the Japanese , and they intend to isolate from the general population as far as possible to protect themselves.

I would be fine if the organizers raised the bar to 100% vaccination requirement, but not sure why Japanese should penalize the visiting athletes because they have fallen behind on vaccination.

 

[IPLore]

Last I saw was that fewer than 2% of Japanese have been vaccinated. That is very low for a developed country. Hospitals are full with Covid patients. On top of that, many Japanese think the games should be cancelled due to all the problems. It is just the tone deaf Olympics officials and a few politicians who want the games to go on.  

Japan has the highest number of hospital bed per capita in the developed world....13 per 1000 ve average of 4.7.

HOWEVER, most of the hospitals are small private institutions and they are not set up to work in a coordinated manner during a pandemic. 

 

[Rotnest Express]

There have been continual articles here in Australia that the polls and surveys in Japan state that 80% of Japanese residents don’t want the games toproceed.Low vaccination rates etc.You need to take the masses with you.This doesn’t appear to be the case here.

 

[AnotherSailor]

Bubbles are a way to do it, but they only work if they are airtight. The Netherlands just had the Eurovision Song Festival (which is ridiculous in all ways possible). Teams from all over came to Rotterdam. All had to be tested several times. A couple of teams had members who tested positive while they were already in Rotterdam... So, how did they get infected while in their bubble? Who else did they infect on the way to the Netherlands and/or at the song festival? It would be wise to study this event closely to determine the possible risks and how to better mitigate them. 

One of the things that worries me is that even while the world has been mostly shut down each time a new COVID-19 variant appears within weeks it has spread all over the globe. And while I think we are turning the corner any of those new variants could find a way around the vaccines... The more the virus spreads, the "better" it gets at infecting us. Each time we gather, the virus is having a party! So this is not only about Japan (or any particular country). It is a global responsibility.

Only nations that completely isolated (such as a Australia and New Zealand) managed to fair well. So, I can definitely see why the Japanese would want to keep visitors out. Yes, everyone wants things to open again, but new infections can pose a major setback. And with the low vaccinations (why was this not a priority?) the risk for Japan (and the world) is real. 

 

[Dave S]

Ed's argument seems to be that because:

1. A US Government body has issued a travel advisory warning Americans against travelling to Japan...

2. The US Olympic sailing team isn't doing too well...

... the IOC should cancel the Olympics.

Eh? Really?

There are lots of good arguments for and against allowing the Games to go ahead, but don't the other 200 or so countries get a say?

 

[EYESAILOR]

Bubbles are a way to do it, but they only work if they are airtight. The Netherlands just had the Eurovision Song Festival (which is ridiculous in all ways possible). Teams from all over came to Rotterdam. All had to be tested several times. A couple of teams had members who tested positive while they were already in Rotterdam... So, how did they get infected while in their bubble? Who else did they infect on the way to the Netherlands and/or at the song festival? It would be wise to study this event closely to determine the possible risks and how to better mitigate them. 

One of the things that worries me is that even while the world has been mostly shut down each time a new COVID-19 variant appears within weeks it has spread all over the globe. And while I think we are turning the corner any of those new variants could find a way around the vaccines... The more the virus spreads, the "better" it gets at infecting us. Each time we gather, the virus is having a party! So this is not only about Japan (or any particular country). It is a global responsibility.

Only nations that completely isolated (such as a Australia and New Zealand) managed to fair well. So, I can definitely see why the Japanese would want to keep visitors out. Yes, everyone wants things to open again, but new infections can pose a major setback. And with the low vaccinations (why was this not a priority?) the risk for Japan (and the world) is real. 

I just think Japan could have a much bigger impact on curtailing Covid by rapid adoption of vaccine rather than banning 20,000 largely vaccinated athletes 

 

[00seven]

With only 12,000+ deaths in Japan so far, why would they want to open their border to a national health risk of massive proportion? They contained it so well compared to other countries that I would say as a nation “No thank you. We do not desire to become a host for another competition-for our lives.”

YMMV

Australian 13 year old skateboarder goes to Cali for Olypic qualifacation. Passes all tests to get there & tests positive, now quarantined. Local transmision after visiting skate parks.

I'd be more worried about US than Japan.

 

[Rum Runner]

Ed's argument seems to be that because:

1. A US Government body has issued a travel advisory warning Americans against travelling to Japan...

2. The US Olympic sailing team isn't doing too well...

... the IOC should cancel the Olympics.

Eh? Really?

There are lots of good arguments for and against allowing the Games to go ahead, but don't the other 200 or so countries get a say?

How about the fact that the Olympics have become a fest where 14-year olds in sequins are the center of attention? That should give you a strong argument that it has become the pedophile games.

 

[stealingisacrime]

Sailing is the summer olympics version of curling, so who really gives a shit.

The US team sucks because US sailings approach to Jr Sailing blows - so we end up with a team of petulant little rich kids and moneyless tagalongs.

2 strikes.

 

[Glenn McCarthy]

Killing the Olympics would be the best thing ever to happen to sailing.  If it does get cancelled, it just might be such a financial disaster for the IOC and future cities just may sit out and they won't find cities to host it again. This will be fun to watch.

 

[AnotherSailor]

I just think Japan could have a much bigger impact on curtailing Covid by rapid adoption of vaccine rather than banning 20,000 largely vaccinated athletes 

Yes, I wonder why vaccination has not been a priority. That having been said, the problem is not only Japan. There is an immense amount of travel leading up to the olympics

 

[WGWarburton]

Killing the Olympics would be the best thing ever to happen to sailing.  If it does get cancelled, it just might be such a financial disaster for the IOC and future cities just may sit out and they won't find cities to host it again. This will be fun to watch.

It would pull a lot of grassroots funding, coaching and learning opportunities out from the sport.

 I get that it's broken in the USA. but that doesn't mean it's broken everywhere. Maybe it would be better to fix it in the US, rather than just dumping on the event?

Cheers,

              W.

 

[WGWarburton]

How about the fact that the Olympics have become a fest where 14-year olds in sequins are the center of attention? That should give you a strong argument that it has become the pedophile games.

 Can you justify your claim that the above is a fact?  I would have said that the centre of attention was the athletics arena but if I'm wrong then I'm open to correction.

Cheers,

              W.