A sudden spike in Covid-19 cases has had the Vietnam government wondering if it’s still viable to push through with this year’s Southeast Asian Games, despite pressure from other countries in the region to continue with the event.
AS debates continue to rage over whether this year’s Tokyo Olympics should push through due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Japan, another venue for a major sporting event this year has decided to act proactively.
Despite the sharp opposition from other member-countries, Vietnam is now proposing to postpone this year’s Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to 2022 after a resurgence of Covid-19 in the country.
The SEA Games is supposed to be held from November 21 to December 2 this year.
"The final decision will be known next week,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino on Wednesday, June 9.
“But it’s still the government of Vietnam that has the final decision.”
Eight of the 11 members of the Southeast Asian Games are against the possible postponement of the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
The Philippines is one of the nations that hope that the games will push through as planned this November. The other seven are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor Leste.
POC voted against the moving of the games to mid-2022 as Team Pilipinas is already starting to train. Moreover, the government has already allotted P200 million for it.
“It’s unfair to the athletes who have already sacrificed their time and effort in training for the SEA Games,” Tolentino said.
Covid-19 cases have more than tripled in Vietnam since April to over 9,000.
Although the number is low in comparison to most of its Southeast Asian neighbors, Vietnam's vaccination rate per capita is the lowest in the region and among the lowest in Asia.
SEA Games events are due to take place in some of the worst affected provinces including Bac Ninh and Bac Giang, in the country's northeast.
One badminton venue in Bac Giang has been turned into a field hospital.
Vietnam previously hosted the multisports competition in 2003. It has allocated a budget of around $69 million for the Games.
The SEA Games are expected to attract nearly 20,000 participants, including about 7,000 athletes, from 11 countries, according to state media. (NP)
Tags: #Vietnam, #SoutheastAsianGames, #Covid19