Philippines' Southeast Asian (SEA) Games team chef de mission Mon Fernandez (Contributed photo)
MANILA – The Philippines' Southeast Asian (SEA) Games team chef de mission Mon Fernandez bared on Tuesday night the SEA Games Federation is set to convene anew regarding the state of the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi amid the pandemic.
"The SEAG Federation will be meeting on the 24th," Fernandez said during the Banana Kick podcast.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) situation in Vietnam has put the holding of the SEA Games in jeopardy with cases rising at a record pace, although not as dreaded as in some other countries.
As of June 21, Vietnam's seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases was at 378 after the confirmation of 272 more infections.
One of the top models for handling the pandemic during its early days last year, Vietnam's recovery rate plummeted to 40.3 percent (5,453 out of 13,530 total cases) mainly due to the ongoing spike and its interestingly slow vaccination drive.
Fernandez, currently a commissioner in the Philippine Sports Commission, said everything is bleak at the moment.
"We'll never know yet. We really just have to wait (for) the decision (of the) SEAG Federation on the 24th," he added.
Earlier this month, the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) proposed to the SEAG Federation the postponement of the SEA Games to July next year.
However, eight other national Olympic committees, including the Philippines, rejected the proposal mainly due to the athletes' preparation.
The VOC might again propose the postponement during Thursday’s meeting. (PNA)
