The world-famous despot of the Hermit Kingdom looks considerably slimmer in photos released by state media on June 5, after not being seen in public for nearly a month
That would be a bad idea, says the informal group of 15 to 20 top public health experts, who have met virtually on Sundays since last year to discuss the pandemic. But they worry their warning will fall on deaf ears. Most of the group members likely favor canceling the games, says one member who did not want to be identified. But given the current stance of Japan’s government and IOC, “the discussion has shifted as to whether we should welcome a domestic audience or not,” this scientist says. But it may be too late “to consider any drastic changes in the way that the Tokyo Olympic Games are organized,” says another member, Hiroshi Nishiura, an epidemiologist at Kyoto University. He says the governmental coronavirus control headquarters, which is under the Cabinet Office, has never publicly discussed the risks of holding the games.
New infections continued to decline globally, with the share of beds filled by Covid patients in the U.S. at the lowest level since March 2020. But rising cases from Fiji to the U.K. are a reminder that the pandemic isn’t disappearing anytime soon.