Vietnam calls for 2 more weeks before making SEAG decision

The fate of the SEA Games in Hanoi remains in a balance. Jade Moya (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The waiting game continues on the fate of the 2021 Southeast Asian Games as the Vietnamese Olympic Committee asked for another two weeks in monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the country.

According to tweets from the Olympic Council of Malaysia, the national Olympic committees agreed to put the voting for the postponement on the games on hold and observe the trend of the COVID-19 surge in Hanoi and its neighboring towns.

As of Wednesday, there are 13,989 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vietnam as 207 have been added to the count.

However, the seven-day average rise slowed down to 314 from a high of 378 on Monday, which means if the trend continues to improve, the chance of the SEA Games pushing through might become more imminent.

The VOC initially proposed on June 9 to postpone the SEA Games scheduled from Nov. 21-Dec. 2 this year due to the COVID-19 spike, but eight NOC's including the Philippines vetoed the postponement.

However, the spike continued during the following week before the decline this week, putting more bleakness on the SEA Games fate.

The SEA Games Federation might make another vote on whether the SEA Games will push through or not when it convenes again on July 8.

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