Tokyo Olympics bans alcohol at all venues just weeks before games begin

• Tokyo Olympics organizers say alcohol will be banned at all venues.
• It follows a public outcry after reports said organizers were contemplating allowing alcohol.
• The games announced a spectator cap, but experts say zero spectators is still the safest option.

Abstinence is shaping up to be the name of the game at this year's summer Olympics, as organizers announced Wednesday that alcohol sales would be banned at all venues.

There was a public outcry this week after media reports said organizers were mulling allowing alcohol consumption at the games.

"Following experts' advice, the organizing committee decided against selling and drinking alcoholic drinks at the venues so as to prevent the spread of infections," the Tokyo Olympics' president, Seiko Hashimoto, said at a news conference, adding that the games sponsor Asahi Breweries was on board with the decision.

Though only 30 days are left before the games are scheduled to begin, uncertainty about how the two-week event will go off remains.

While organizers maintain that the scaled-down games will be safe, others have cast doubt after Japan saw a spike in COVID-19 cases in May. Tokyo exited its state of emergency only last Sunday.

Organizers on Monday announced a cap on domestic spectators at 10,000, with no foreign visitors. Japanese health experts, however, have said barring spectators altogether is the "least risky" option.

Olympics organizers appear to be quashing vice of all kinds. In early June, the International Olympic Committee suggested the 160,000 free condoms that organizers procured for athletes staying in the Olympic Village should be used "at home" and not during their stay in Japan.