3月16日，東京奧組委釋出了一份新冠疫情期間觀看聖火傳遞的“圍觀指南”，要求沿途觀眾佩戴口罩、保持社交距離，並禁止歡呼加油。
“大家可以在路旁觀看（火炬傳遞），但我們希望大家能夠保持社交距離，避免聚集。”
Tokyo 2020 organizers on Tuesday called on roadside spectators at the Games' torch relay to wear masks and practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. They also said torch relay staff must test negative for the coronavirus before being sent from Tokyo.
"People are fine to watch from the side of the road but when they do so we would like them to practice distancing and avoid crowds," Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee (TOGOC), said at a news conference.
"We want to ensure a safe torch relay not only for the runners, but for the people in the local communities who are kind enough to host it," he said.
東京奧運聖火傳遞防疫方針公佈
在昨日公佈的聖火傳遞防疫措施中，東京奧組委制定了一系列防疫標準，要求組織方在出現人員聚集的情況時進行干預。干預方式包括：
如果沿途觀眾出現肩並肩密切接觸、人群無法保持足夠間距的情況，聖火傳遞先導宣傳車和沿途工作人員應呼籲人群移動；如果沿途觀眾密集程度高到可能妨礙正常通行時，警方將會進行相關提醒或警告；如果情況持續惡化，則考慮取消該傳遞區域和市區町單位的傳遞區間。東京奧組委方面表示，除重大情況外，聖火傳遞所到區域的各都道府縣可視實際情況做出判斷和決定。
雖然日本民眾對今年能否順利舉行東京奧運會仍存有疑慮，但東京奧組委已確定聖火傳遞將於3月25日在福島縣啟動——路線遍及日本全部47個都道府縣，歷經121天，直到7月23日晚抵達奧運會開幕式現場。
據瞭解，聖火傳遞出發儀式將在福島縣足球場“J-Village”舉行，除相關人士外，普通民眾無法入場觀看。此前規劃的中小學生合唱等活動照常舉行，但規模有所縮減。
The 121-day torch relay is set to begin on March 25 at the J-Village training center in Fukushima, launching the build-up toward the July 23 start of the Games, postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
多位明星火炬手、奧運志願者“請辭”
東京奧運會聖火傳遞即將開始之際，不少火炬手卻選擇退出。
女足世界盃冠軍成員川澄奈穗美和馬拉松名將大迫傑昨日相繼宣佈放棄聖火傳遞機會。大迫傑表示自己正在肯亞訓練備戰奧運會，無法回國參加火炬接力；身在美國的川澄奈穗美則表示，由於擔心在歸國旅途中感染新冠病毒，她拒絕冒險回國。
而根據東京奧運會推遲之前的安排，兩人原本都將參加3月25日的首日聖火傳遞，川澄奈穗美是聖火傳遞第1棒火炬手，大迫傑跑第3棒。
Japanese star marathon racer Suguru Osako and women's World Cup-winning footballer Nahomi Kawasumi confirmed on Monday that they would not attend the opening ceremony of the torch relay next week.
Osako, who broke the Japanese national record several times, said that he is training in Kenya and will be unable to fly back home to run the relay on the opening day in Fukushima on March 25. The 29-year-old, with a personal best of 2:05:29, will compete in his second Olympic Games this summer, following his debut four years ago in Rio.
Kawasumi, 35, who guided Japan to the Women's World Cup in 2011, said that it is difficult to make travel arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic from the United States, where she is based.
Her national teammates Mana Iwabuchi and Saki Kumagai, both of whom play in Europe, also declined the chance to participate in the torch relay.
Members of the 2011 World Cup-winning team were set to carry the torch on the relay's first domestic leg, while Osako was listed as the third torch bearer.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be held from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5, this year.
當地相關負責人坦言——
“如果新冠病毒繼續擴散，退出的志願者人數將進一步增加。為此，有必要提前準備，將2個人的工作變為1個人的工作。”