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okyo Olympic Games organisers will ask for athletes to submit a COVID-19 test before and on arrival in Japan as part of the proposed Coronavirus measures being put in place to protect those at the delayed games.

Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer, Toshiro Muto, said he was hoping there would be more plans set in stone by mid-December, but there were still many discussions that needed to be had with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), international sporting federations and national Olympic committees.

No decision has been made on how many tests the athletes will have to undertake either while in Japan or in the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Under the proposal, athletes would not have to undergo a two-week quarantine period and they will have to submit an activity plan indicating their proposed destinations.

“It should be very difficult — it’s not realistic for us to consider not using public transportation by athletes because they will have to go to regional areas, they might have to use public transportation,” Muto said.

“We are going to discuss how to do it when it’s necessary,” he said.

In June, Muto warned the Olympic Games would not be the same as previous events.

“The Games will not be a grand splendour but will be a simplified Games,” Muto said.

There has been some controversy surrounding the handling of the Olympic Games, with vice president of the IOC, John Coates, saying that the games will start as planned (originally July 23) with or without a COVID-19 vaccine.

IOC president, Thomas Bach, reiterated that he hopes the Games would go ahead safely and securely, next summer in 2021.

Five-time Olympic champion swimmer, Ian Thorpe, said earlier this month he wanted the games to go ahead but was doubtful they could without a Coronavirus vaccine.

“First and foremost is people’s health,” Thorpe said.

“So, let’s put that into perspective and, if we haven’t got a treatment or a vaccine for COVID, the Olympics will possibly not go ahead,” he said.

The IOC’s coordination commission chair, John Coates, said he did not believe a vaccine would be needed for the Games to go ahead.

Organisers are yet to make a decision on spectator numbers or whether athletes will be kept in a bubble away from members of the public.