Tokyo saw five consecutive days with more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases until they finally lowered Monday, CBS News reported.
The 2020 summer games begin Friday in Tokyo, Japan, with some calling the sport spectacle “the Joyless Olympics” as a lengthy list of strict rules are enforced to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Masks are required to be worn at all times except when eating, drinking, sleeping, training or competing.
Unlike past Olympics, expect the medal ceremony to also look a lot different. Winners will be forced to wear masks on the podium and to minimize close contact, they will actually have to put on their own medals.
Even the beds inside the Olympic village are turning into quite a buzzkill as they're made of 100% recyclable cardboard. There's speculation it's meant to discourage intimacy among the athletes. Some are calling them "anti-sex beds" but a gymnast from Ireland posted video jumping up and down, proving it can withstand the weight.
Athletes are tested daily for COVID-19 and temperature checks are administered upon entering Olympic venues. Hugs, handshakes and high-fives are also strongly discouraged.
Nicole Ahsinger competes in trampoline gymnastics and told Inside Edition that even with all the restrictions and coronavirus concerns, she cannot wait to get to Tokyo.
“I think everybody is just a little nervous about it but I am being careful and I am wearing my mask and I am being vigilant. I am just really excited to go out there and compete, that's what I am here to do,” she said.
She said she is also bringing a mattress topper for the supposed uncomfortable bed.
Athletes are being told to arrive five days prior to the start of their respective competition and leave within 48 hours of their last event, which means potentially missing out on the opening and closing ceremonies.
When they are in Tokyo, they can only leave their accommodation to go to official games venues and a limited number of permitted locations.
The pandemic is still raging around the globe and in Japan there is a state of emergency in place, so opposition to the Olympics among the Japanese public is high.
The global event is so unpopular there that Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker and a top Olympics sponsor, announced Monday that it will not be airing TV commercials in Japan related to the Olympics, nor will its president attend the opening ceremony Friday, according to CBS News.
