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Organizers for the Tokyo Olympics announced Monday that a limited number of local fans will be able to attend events when competition begins in July.

Venues will be allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity, with a limit of 10,000 spectators, barring a surge in coronavirus cases.



Fans who do attend will be required to wear masks and abstain from cheering, due to COVID-19 protocols. They are also being asked to go directly home after attending a venue to avoid the risk of spreading the virus.

There are currently 3.64 million tickets purchased by fans in Japan, but at 50 percent capacity only about 2.7 million seats are available. A lottery system will be used to determine who gets to use their tickets.

There will still be no spectators allowed from other countries. More than 11,400 athletes are expected to participate.

The Olympics are scheduled to begin July 23, one year after the original date of the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan is behind other nations in vaccinations against the virus. Only 7.3 percent of the nation’s residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University. The rate in the United States is 45.6 percent.

The U.S. State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans against traveling to Japan because of COVID-19, which is nearing the end of its fourth wave there.



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