With less than two months until the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the health crisis surrounding the zika virus epidemic "has now become a battle of public opinion as authorities scramble to convince the world it is safe to host the Games," according to Donna Bowater of the London TELEGRAPH. While experts argue over whether the 500,000 expected visitors could spread zika to new areas, the World Health Organisation has bowed to int'l pressure and said that it "would reassess the dangers of hosting the Olympics in Rio in August." WHO Dir General Margaret Chan said, "Given the current level of international concern, I have decided to ask members of the Zika Emergency Committee to examine the risks of holding the Olympic Summer Games as currently scheduled." The WHO had initially said there was no “public health justification” for altering the Games after academics claimed the Olympics posed an “unnecessary risk” for the spread of the virus. Brazilian authorities insisted that the number of zika cases among Olympic visitors "is likely to be in single figures but reassurances have failed to assuage international concern." Meanwhile, government figures for the city "showed the number of cases has already fallen dramatically from a high of 7,700 in January to 700 in May as Rio heads into its winter." The figure "is likely to continue to decrease through to August" (TELEGRAPH, 6/4).
