As we reported on March 25th, the 2020 Japan Swim was one of the final remaining Olympic Trials meets to have been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Originally slated for early April, the meet had been scaled back from a full-fledged pre-Olympic affair to a non-spectator competition to then a meet limited to only those without fever and a valid health certificate.
With the elite Trials now having been postponed to Apri 2021 to fall in line with the Tokyo Olympic Games moving to July 2021, the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) has donated the 17,000 N95 particulate respirators (masks) it had on-hand for the Japan Swim. The masks were to be worn by spectators, athletes, officials and virtually everyone in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the meet.
The JASF donated the 17,000 masks to Tokyo Metropolitan Management Headquarters, with the aim of helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Metro group operates 8 hospitals in the Tokyo area.
As of the time of publishing, the nation of Japan has seen 13,614 coronavirus cases reported, resulting in 385 deaths.
Japanese swimmers are still not allowed back in the water for full-fledged training at this time, although an in-country altitude camp is still on schedule for this week.