The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee rebuffed speculation on Wednesday that the games might be cancelled due to deepening concern about the coronavirus outbreak, declaring that was not an option.

"I am totally not considering this," Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a briefing when asked about a possible cancellation. Asked when the organisers could decide on changes to the Olympics, he said: "I'm not God so I don't know."

He also said he was happy to hear International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach saying he was confident the Tokyo Olympics would be held on schedule. Tokyo Olympics committee CEO Toshiro Muto also voiced confidence the summer games would begin on July 24 during a call with the IOC board.

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