RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazilian organizers have reiterated they have no intention of canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the outbreak of the Zika virus, with Sports Minister George Hilton saying the topic “is not in discussion.”
Hilton issued a statement Thursday saying he “lamented material and opinions in the press” speculating that South America’s first Olympics might be called off.
“The Brazilian government is fully committed to ensure that the 2016 Rio games take place in an atmosphere of security and tranquility,” Hilton wrote.
Brazil is the epicenter of an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which the World Health Organization has called “an extraordinary event and public health threat.”
Health officials are investigating whether there is a link between Zika infections in pregnant women and a rare birth defect.