The Olympics are still stuck in 2020

In two weeks, it’ll be 2020 again: an Olympic year, and a pandemic year, too. This year’s Olympic Games will start in July 2021, but the official logo still reads “Tokyo 2020.” The games were canceled in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, but through the funhouse mirror of pandemic time, the competition is stuck back in 2020 — and COVID-19 is still threatening the games.

Tokyo declared a state of emergency this week following a surge in COVID-19 cases, and Olympic organizers announced Thursday that no fans would be allowed at competitions in the city. The decisions were made as experts warned (again) that the games could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Japan has, so far, avoided some of the most severe...

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