KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s pre-Olympic Games training camp that was scheduled to be held in Tottori, Japan has been called off, it was announced today.

A release from the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) today said, “a decision has been taken to cancel the camp which had been scheduled for next month in the Prefecture of Tottori, Japan, as a result of the spread of COVID-19”.

An agreement between the Jamaican and Japanese governments had been made where the Jamaican teams would be hosted in Tottori in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

The track and field teams are usually the main beneficences of the pre-Olympic camp as they get to practice relay baton changes and sharpen their skills leading up to the start of the Games.

The JOA release stated, “The Japanese Government is imposing strict measures on all local governments hosting pre-Games camp, which are unprecedented and treated as ‘abnormal circumstances.”

The JOA said “the communication further stated that although the current COVID-19 situation in Tottori Prefecture is not as serious as in other regions, the increasing cases of highly infectious mutant variants and the ongoing state of emergency in Tokyo and in eight other prefectures are raising public sentiments nationwide which has also increased concerns locally among citizens, healthcare providers and health authorities with regards to hosting pre-Games camp.”