Fans urged not to attend Olympic Marathon over virus spreading fears

Tokyo- With only a handful of weeks before the Olympics officially start, the IOC is telling the public that they do not want mass crowds watching the Olympic Marathon live, due to a fear of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

For the last few months, the IOC has been trying to put together a plan to keep the athletes, members of the media, and other individuals safe during the Olympic games. There have been many petitions signed to cancel the Olympics, due to the global pandemic, but the IOC has stated repeatedly that they were moving forward with the games.

After easing COVID restrictions in late June, the IOC fears that there could be a potential wave of increased cases if fans attend the Olympic Marathon in large groups. The IOC has asked fans to stay away from the marathon in hopes that they will listen. "In view of the current Covid-19 situation, it will be necessary to reduce the risk of infection by restricting the movement of members of the public," organisers said in a statement about the marathon and race walk events.

With a new variant of the virus and a rise in cases, it is speculated that Japan will once again be on stricter restrictions in the next couple of days.