There will be no fans allowed to watch Olympians perform in-person at the Games this summer ... spectators have now been banned from the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19.
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga just declared a state of emergency in Tokyo ... after people in the heavily populated area have seen a spike in coronavirus cases.
Suga said Thursday the state of emergency -- and the heavy restrictions that come with it -- will be in place through Aug. 22.
The Games are scheduled to run from July 23 to Aug. 8.
"The number of infected cases in the area including Tokyo has been increasing since the end of last month," Suga said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga formally declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, putting restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus infections in place through August 22 https://t.co/DiYUzeVTfw pic.twitter.com/tTxesZ6mq9
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 8, 2021
"The number of severe cases and bed occupancy rate continues to be on the low level, but considering the impact of variants, we need to enhance countermeasures so that the infection will not spread nationwide."
The Tokyo Olympics had already been postponed from 2020 to 2021.
Olympics officials apologized Thursday to those who had tickets to the event.
Medical experts, meanwhile, continued to stress the spectator ban was the safest way to hold the Games this summer.