Tokyo: Olympic competitors have been given an added incentive for winning a medal when organisers announced that they may remove their masks for 30 seconds on the podium for pictures.
Medalists were advised not to take advantage of the rule changes at the Tokyo Olympics, which have been distinguished by rigorous anti-coronavirus efforts since they opened a year late.
‘The idea is to give those athletes who have been competing, when everyone else has stepped back, the chance to remove their mask for 30 seconds, staying on those steps for photos,’ Mark Adams, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee, said on Monday.
Athletes are required to wear masks unless they are training, competing, eating, drinking, or sleeping, and they are checked on a daily basis. They are now shown a sign telling them to remove their masks for the photographers while standing on the podium.
On the other hand, Adams advised participants not to break the regulations and to keep their masks on unless ordered otherwise.
153 persons associated with the Games have tested positive so far this month. According to the IOC, over 85 percent of athletes got immunised.
Post Your Comments