The Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) is hopeful that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which were postponed due to the rampant COVID-19 pandemic will go ahead this year.

LNOC spokesperson Moshoeshoe Molapo said they have received a communique from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which states that the games could go ahead provided the athletes get doses of COVID-19 vaccine to prevent them from contracting the disease.
He said although they expect the games to go ahead as planned, they are currently no ongoing preparations because of the prevailing lockdown and the suspension of all sporting activities in the country.

He was however, confident that athletes are training individually in preparation for the global games.

WHO Emergencies Chief, Dr Mike Ryan has reportedly said the UN health agency is providing Japan and the IOC with technical advice on the Tokyo Games.
Dr Ryan said the advice will however, not be part of any decisions as to whether or not the Olympic Games can go ahead.
WHO, he further showed routinely provides advice to countries for mass events which include among others, the World Cup and the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

However, the decision as to whether such events proceed is up to concerned governments.
The Japanese government is adamant that it will stage the games this summer, although polls show that 80 percent of the Japanese want the Olympics to be cancelled or postponed, or believe the tournament will not happen.
But Dr Ryan was confident that Japan, which is struggling with an upsurge of infections, could bring virus levels down again.
The novel coronavirus has left many countries devastated after it broke out in December last year.

It has left the world economy struggling as thousands of jobs were lost when many businesses were forced to close while sporting activities were suspended in a bid to curb the spread of the pandemic.