Man in mask standing near Olympic rings in Tokyo.Photo: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Tokyo Summer Olympics logo.CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

In a virtual forum on Thursday, IOC President Anthony Bach spoke to athletes, where he acknowledged that the waiver “is a concern for a number of you,” per the AP.

Bach then asked IOC chief operating officer Lana Haddad to give those in attendance “an expert’s answer,” as he called it.

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The waiver, Haddad then explained, is always included in the entry form that athletes must sign. She said it has now been “updated to include COVID-19 related consideration.”

“This is really to provide transparency and ensure the informed consent from the games participants,” she explained. “The entry forms are consistent with the standard practice of all other big event organizers. And the forms are within the framework of the law, if I may add.”

Previously, theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)issued a new travel advisory for those planning trips to Japan ahead of the Olympics this summer. “Travelers should avoid all travel to Japan,” the CDCadvisedMonday.

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source: people.com