New Tokyo Olympic Covid Guidance: Talking Banned

No talking at dinner! no talking in confined spaces! no talking to the official vehicle drivers!  just some of the grim and unjoyful Covid guidance for athletes and officials in the latest version of the so-call ‘Playbook’ unveiled by the Games organisers.

The 11,000 athletes, support staff and media in Tokyo for the Olympic Games will face a range of penalties should they break any of the virus protocols from fines, disqualification, medals being taken away, right down to deportation for repeated or “malicious” offences.  Welcome to the Olympics!

This third and final playbook even extends to how you dine. The guidance given is when eating meals, people must “keep 2 metres away from others unless instructed otherwise, or eat by yourself, keeping contacts to a minimum”.

In keeping with Olympic tradition of safe sex, 160,000 free condoms are due to be handed out in the Olympic village. However, anything approaching intimacy is strictly forbidden as the 2-metre social distancing must be adhered too. Games organisers are insisting that the condoms are now only being issued as souvenirs for athletes to take home.

Breach the rules and as the playbook says ‘There may be consequences imposed…including procedures for revocation of your permit of stay in Japan,’.  

To reinforce the message Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, says athletes need to “Respect the Playbook, respect the rules”.  There will be a requirement for athletes to sign a pledge to follow the rules.

With just over a month until the games open, the newly updated virus rule book are the organisers way of attempting to build confidence that the biggest international event since the pandemic began will be safe for participants and the public.

For the British contingent there is the possibility of further drastic action in the shape of a ‘Six Day Hard Quarantine’ which is being considered by the organisers for athletes and media coming from 10 countries where the growth of the Delta (Indian) variant is significant. One of those 10 countries is Great Britain. 

As standard PR procedure both the International Olympic Committee and British Olympic Association have announced that they sincerely hope such drastic measures, of being confined in a hotel room for six days, will not be necessary when the athletes arrive in around a months’ time.