Tokyo 2020 preparations going ahead ‘as planned’ despite coronavirus threat

Olympic organizers have insisted that preparations for Tokyo 2020 are going ahead “as planned” despite the novel coronavirus outbreak in Asia.

The virus has so far claimed the lives of over 2,700 worldwide, with the majority recorded in mainland China.

A number of sporting events have already been impacted, including the Tokyo marathon which has been restricted to elite athletes only.

“(We) will continue to collaborate with all relevant organizations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organizations,” the local Olympic organizing committee said in a statement to CNN Tuesday.

READ: How global sport has been impacted by the coronavirus

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Earlier on Tuesday, Dick Pound, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told AP there is potential for the Olympics to be postponed or canceled, estimating a three-month window in which to make that decision.

Local organizers told CNN that the three-month window “is not necessarily the IOC’s collective view.”

READ: Olympics ‘on track’ with no contingency plans in place amid coronavirus outbreak

READ: Italian soccer faces further disruption amid spike in coronavirus cases

Meanwhile, the IOC also offered its own assurance the Games would go ahead, telling CNN that “countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020’s plans to host a safe and secure Games.

“The IOC is in contact with the World Health Organization, as well as its own medical experts. We have full confidence that the relevant authorities, in particular in Japan and China, will take all the necessary measures to address the situation.”

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Two nuns greet neighbors from their balcony in Turin, Italy, on Sunday, March 15.

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Body temperatures are scanned as people enter the Buddhist temple Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 13.

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Workers prepare to construct an additional building on a hospital on the outskirts of Moscow.

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Students leave Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, Washington, on March 12. Beginning the following day, schools in the Snohomish school district planned to be closed through April 24.

An Uber Eats delivery biker stands at a deserted Piazza di Spagna in Rome.

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A person wearing a face mask walks outside of a shopping mall in Beijing on March 11.

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Airmen from the California National Guard drop coronavirus testing kits down to the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California on March 5.

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Passengers react as a worker wearing a protective suit disinfects the departure area of a railway station in Hefei, China, on March 4.

Teachers at the Nagoya International School in Japan conduct an online class for students staying at home as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus.

Soldiers spray disinfectant throughout a shopping street in Seoul.

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People wear face masks in New York's Times Square on March 3. New York reported its first case of coronavirus two days earlier.

A security guard stands on the Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo on March 3.

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Healthcare workers transfer a patient at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, on March 1. The long-term care facility is linked to confirmed coronavirus cases.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a London laboratory of the Public Health England National Infection Service.

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Medical staff transport a coronavirus patient within the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan on February 28.

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A bank clerk disinfects banknotes in China's Sichuan province on February 26.

A child wearing a protective face mask rides on a scooter in an empty area in Beijing.

A Catholic devotee wears a face mask as he is sprinkled with ash during Ash Wednesday services in Paranaque, Philippines, on February 26.

People disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on February 25.

A worker in Daegu stacks plastic buckets containing medical waste from coronavirus patients on February 24.

Paramedics carry a stretcher off an ambulance in Hong Kong on February 23.

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A team of volunteers disinfects a pedestrian bridge in Bangkok, Thailand.

A man rides his bike in Beijing on February 23.

Hospital personnel in Codogno, Italy, carry new beds inside the hospital on February 21. The hospital is hosting some people who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

Doctors look at a CT scan of a lung at a hospital in Xiaogan, China, on February 20.

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A medical worker rests at the isolation ward of the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan on February 16.

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Beds are made in the Wuhan Sports Center, which has been converted into a temporary hospital.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has his temperature checked during an appearance in Beijing on February 10.

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A woman grieves while paying tribute to Li at Li's hospital in Wuhan on February 7.

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Passengers are seen on the deck of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at the Yokohama Port on February 7.

Flight attendants wearing face masks make their way through Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok on February 7.

Workers check sterile medical gloves at a latex-product manufacturer in Nanjing, China, on February 6.

A woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a Beijing market on February 6.

This aerial photo shows the Leishenshan Hospital that is being built in Wuhan to handle coronavirus patients.

A passenger shows a note from the World Dream cruise ship docked at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong on February 5.

A mask is seen on a statue in Beijing on February 5.

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A dog in Beijing wears a makeshift mask constructed from a paper cup.

Striking hospital workers in Hong Kong demand the closure of the border with mainland China on February 4.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship sits anchored in quarantine off the port of Yokohama on February 4. It arrived a day earlier with passengers feeling ill.

A medical worker wearing protective gear waits to take the temperature of people entering Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong on February 4.

Medical workers in protective suits help transfer patients to a newly completed field hospital in Wuhan.

People wearing protective overalls talk outside a Wuhan hotel housing people in isolation on February 3.

A man stands in front of TV screens broadcasting a speech by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on February 3. Lam said the city would shut almost all border-control points to the mainland.

A colleague sprays disinfectant on a doctor in Wuhan on February 3.

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Passengers in Hong Kong wear protective masks as they wait to board a train at Lo Wu Station, near the mainland border, on January 30.

A volunteer wearing protective clothing disinfects a street in Qingdao, China, on January 29.

Nanning residents line up to buy face masks from a medical appliance store on January 29.

Lyu Jun, left, a member of a medical team leaving for Wuhan, says goodbye to a loved one in Urumqi, China, on January 28.

A charter flight from Wuhan arrives at an airport in Anchorage, Alaska, on January 28. The US government chartered the plane to bring home US citizens and diplomats from the American consulate in Wuhan.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in wears a mask to inspect the National Medical Center in Seoul on January 28.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, center, attends a news conference in Hong Kong on January 28. Lam said China will stop individual travelers to Hong Kong while closing some border checkpoints and restricting flights and train services from the mainland.

Workers at an airport in Novosibirsk, Russia, check the temperatures of passengers who arrived from Beijing on January 28.

Alex Azar, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks during a news conference about the American public-health response.

Two residents walk in an empty park in Wuhan on January 27. The city remained on lockdown for a fourth day.

A person wears a protective mask, goggles and coat as he stands in a nearly empty street in Beijing on January 26.

Medical staff members bring a patient to the Wuhan Red Cross hospital on January 25.

People wear protective masks as they walk under Lunar New Year decorations in Beijing on January 25.

Construction workers in Wuhan begin to work on a special hospital to deal with the outbreak on January 24.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks to reporters on January 24 about a patient in Chicago who had been diagnosed with the coronavirus. The patient was the second in the United States to be diagnosed with the illness.

A couple kisses goodbye as they travel for the Lunar New Year holiday in Beijing on January 24.

Workers manufacture protective face masks at a factory in China's Hubei Province on January 23.

Shoppers wear masks in a Wuhan market on January 23.

Passengers are checked by a thermography device at an airport in Osaka, Japan, on January 23.

People wear masks while shopping for vegetables in Wuhan on January 23.

A militia member checks the body temperature of a driver in Wuhan on January 23.

Passengers wear masks as they arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, on January 23.

A customer holds boxes of particulate respirators at a pharmacy in Hong Kong on January 23.

Passengers wear masks at the high-speed train station in Hong Kong on January 23.

A woman rides an electric bicycle in Wuhan on January 22.

People in Guangzhou, China, wear protective masks on January 22.

People go through a checkpoint in Guangzhou on January 22.

Medical staff of Wuhan's Union Hospital attend a gathering on January 22.

Health officials hold a news conference in Beijing on January 22.

In pictures: The novel coronavirus outbreak

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The Olympics are scheduled to take place between July 24 and August 9.

The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, have been postponed until next year and the Asian Indoor Track and Field Championship in Hangzhou has been canceled.

The Six Nations, rugby’s premier international competition in the northern hemisphere, has called off Ireland’s fixture against Italy scheduled for March 7.

Inter Milan’s Europa League game against Ludogorets will be played behind closed doors Thursday.

Italy confirmed 322 cases of the virus on Tuesday, the highest number of infections outside Asia.

Japan’s J-League postponed seven Levian Cup matches in February and all domestic games through early March, while 72 Japanese pro-baseball pre-season games will be played in empty stadiums to prevent the spread of the virus, according to the Nippon Professional Baseball organization.

CNN’s Wayne Sterling contributed to this report.