The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not plan any “drastic” decisions about the Tokyo 2020 Games, saying on Tuesday it remains fully committed to the event being staged in four months time despite the global spread of the coronavirus.

The IOC said in a statement following discussions with international sports federations that changes would need to be made to the qualifiers due to the impact of the virus, but it plans to go ahead with the July 24-August 9 Olympics.

“The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage,” it said in a statement.

“Any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive.

“The IOC encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as best they can,” it said, less than an hour after European soccer body Uefa postponed its 2020 European championship to 2021.

Sports competitions have come to a halt in many parts of the world, wreaking havoc with Olympic qualifiers across 33 sports.

The IOC on Monday scrapped any remaining boxing qualifiers due to the virus.

So far 57 per cent of the 11,000 athletes have already secured their spot.

“For the remaining 43% of places, the IOC will work with the international federations to make any necessary and practical adaptations to their respective qualification systems for Tokyo 2020,” the Olympic body said.

It said qualification could also be based on ranking or historical results as well.

“The IOC has confidence that the many measures being taken by many authorities around the world will help contain the situation of the Covid-19 virus.”

Spain’s stand

Spain’s Olympic Committee (COE) president Alejandro Blanco said he would prefer this summer’s Tokyo Olympics to be postponed because his country’s athletes are unable to train due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The decision is for the International Olympic Committee (to make) after getting reports from the World Health Organisation and the organising committee,” he said in a COE statement.

“The news that we get every day is uncomfortable for all countries in the world, but for us the most important thing is that our sportspeople cannot train and to celebrate the Games (as planned) would result in unequal conditions.

“We want the Olympics to take place, but with security. We’re an important country in the world and four months before the games, our athletes can’t arrive in equal conditions.”

‘Wuhan’ quarantined

Chinese football club Wuhan Zall, whose home city is ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic, have landed in China after being stranded in Spain since late January — and were immediately placed in two weeks’ quarantine.

The Chinese Super League season has been indefinitely postponed because of the virus with Wuhan Zall exemplifying clubs’ predicaments, enduring weeks of disruption and uncertainty.

The latest instalment of the team’s tortuous journey saw the homesick squad touch down in the southern city of Shenzhen on Monday afternoon.

However, due to strict new Chinese rules and health inspections on arriving passengers, imposed to prevent an influx of imported cases from the global contagion, it took more than 12 hours for the players to arrive at their Shenzhen hotel.

They now face isolation for a fortnight, according to the official Xinhua news agency, and still do not know when they will be able to return to their homes and families.

The team cannot go back to Wuhan — which is 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from Shenzhen — because the city of 11 million remains sealed off.

Jorge upbeat

Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus has tested positive for coronavirus and is under quarantine in Rio de Janeiro while doctors perform a second confirmatory test, he and his club said on Monday.

“It’s true that my test came up positive and it’s also true that I feel normal,” the Portuguese coach said on Instagram. “I feel exactly the same today as I felt a month, a year, two, three years ago. I have no symptoms but the test was positive.”

“I am going to stay under quarantine. I think that in a week or two, God willing, I’ll be back to normal.”