ALCOHOL IS OK BUT CONDOMS ARE NOT IN TOKYO OLYMPIC VILLAGE

The organizing committee of this summer's Tokyo Olympics said Sunday that participants will be allowed to bring alcoholic beverages into the athletes' village but only for consumption in their rooms, as part of efforts to ensure the safety of the games amid the coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo News reported.

The organizing committee also said it will not distribute condoms to participants during their stay in the village but on their departure, a break from recent Olympic tradition.

Condoms have been given to participants since the 1988 Seoul Olympics to raise awareness of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, according to the committee.

With around a month to go until the start of the Olympics, five organizing bodies of the games, including the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments and the International Olympic Committee, will decide Monday on how many spectators will be allowed at venues.

The organizers are considering allowing around 20,000 spectators for the Olympic opening ceremony late next month, sources with knowledge of the matter said Sunday.

The spectator cap for the ceremony at the National Stadium on July 23 would include both ticket holders from the general public and officials related to the games, the sources said.

The Japanese government has said it will allow up to 10,000 people at events such as sports games and concerts in areas that are not under a COVID-19 state of emergency or a quasi-emergency, as long as they do not exceed 50 percent of venue capacity

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC