An Olympic cauldron was ignited in Japan on Friday with the flame carried from Greece before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amidst the concerns about the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic causing major disruption to the event that is planned for the summer.
The Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori stated that they will do the most they can in the preparation for a safe and secure event. Mori mentioned this at the ceremony at the Matsushima air base of Japan's Self-Defence Forces.
Olympic flame gets ignited
The officials would work closely with the International Olympic Committee, the government of Japan, the Tokyo metropolitan government, and take into consideration advice from the World Health Organisation, he added.
The deadly coronavirus outbreak has caused major devastation around the world causing the death of over 8,000 people while infecting more than 200,000 around the world. The deadly virus which originated from Wuhan has spread to more than 120 countries in the world.
(With agency inputs)
