Coronavirus: The Olympics
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2021
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Olympic Games now look certain to go ahead in Japan in July. However, some people in the country are against holding the event, as it tackles a fourth wave of coronavirus cases, low vaccination and the extension of a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas. Two doctors in Tokyo share their observations, experiences and concerns.
As some countries, including Japan, struggle to vaccinate older members of their populations, host Nuala McGovern also hears from two 12-year-olds in Canada and the United States. They were among the first children in the world to receive a Covid vaccine.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello I'm Nula McGovern on the BBC World Service and this is BBC OS, |
| 0:05.8 | Conversations on Coronavirus. The Olympics. |
| 0:12.0 | Vaccination levels are currently relatively low in Japan where there are concerns about |
| 0:17.2 | Tokyo hosting the upcoming Olympic Games. We'll hear from a couple of doctors who are there and will also bring together two 12 year olds in Canada and the United States to discuss being among the first children to be vaccinated against COVID. |
| 0:32.0 | I was a bit hesitant because it was a bit... to be vaccinated against COVID. |
| 0:32.8 | I was a bit hesitant because it was a bit scary, but one day half the kids in my grade came to school |
| 0:38.5 | and they were all like vaccinated and stuff. |
| 0:40.6 | And that day I went home and I was like I'm getting vaccinated. |
| 0:45.0 | We'll hear more from the vaccinated children and their parents shortly but first let's |
| 0:50.2 | head to Japan. The Tokyo Olympics were originally due to take place last year, but then, like so many events, the pandemic put everything on hold. |
| 1:00.0 | The new date for the opening ceremony is July 23rd and the Tokyo 2020 President |
| 1:05.5 | Seiko Hashimoto says she's 100% certain the games will go ahead. |
| 1:10.9 | No international fans are allowed though and there will be measures such as daily |
| 1:14.9 | testing for the athletes who began arriving in Japan a few days ago. For the athletes and the stakeholders, they will be inside a bubble, and this is how we envisage |
| 1:26.7 | protecting and defending their health. |
| 1:28.8 | If an outbreak should happen during the games that amounts to a crisis or an emergency situation, then I believe |
| 1:34.0 | we must be prepared to have these games without any spectators. |
| 1:37.8 | Japan has hard relatively low numbers of deaths from COVID, but the debate continues about whether it is |
| 1:44.4 | wise to hold the games during a pandemic with the Paralympics planned for the |
| 1:49.2 | following month. Japan's top medical advisor says that hosting them amid the current state of infections was not normal |
| 1:56.8 | and polling suggests that nearly 70% of the for hospital admissions, with the chairman of the Japan Doctors Union |
| 2:14.8 | warning that a so-called Olympic strain of the coronavirus could emerge if the |
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