Tokyo Paralympics press ahead to allow students to attend

By STEPHEN WADE and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Plans are afoot to allow tens of thousands of school children to attend the Tokyo Paralympics despite the spread of the coronavirus delta variant among teenagers and those even younger who are not vaccinated. All other fans have been banned as they were for the Olympics. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has said she will press ahead as long a parents and schools are supportive. The Tokyo organizing committee and the International Paralympic Committee also back the plan and say it is safe. Opposition is coming from the Japanese government’s top medial adviser. Dr. Shigeru Omi told a parliamentary session a few days ago that the current COVID-19 situation “compared to before the Olympics, is significantly worse.”