HEARTBREAKING: Savannah Guthrie’s unexpected decision to turn down coverage of the upcoming Milan Olympics left NBC News stunned—until the real reason surfaced

The Today show host, 49, arrived in Tokyo to cover the Olympics on July 17
She had to be tested twice prior to departure, 96 hours and 72 hours before the trip — and again at the airport, where she spent hours in immigration
She also had to test daily for the first three days and submit status to a health app, while another app tells her whether she has been exposed 
There is also a strict quarantine, and she admitted she can only be in her hotel and her workspace
Media get 15 minutes outside of their rooms a day to walk around the hotel
Several athletes at the Olympic Village have tested positive, and the committee chief said today that the event still could be canceled at the last minute

Today show host Savannah Guthrie has offered a peek inside the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday, revealing some of the ‘very strict’ COVID-19 protocols in place to keep the athletes and press healthy.

The Olympics committee is certainly playing it safe as thousands of international visitors pour in for the event, and Savannah, 49, opened up about the frequent testing, firm rules, and rigid lockdown in place.

‘They have very strict protocols here. In a way it’s like stepping back in time,’ she told her co-hosts this morning.

‘At least for those of us in our country [the United States], at the height of the pandemic, we remember the washing of the hands, the mask-wearing, all of that. It’s just like that here. It’s really locked down here in Tokyo.’

Savannah arrived in Tokyo on July 17 after over 21 hours of travel from New York City — and three COVID-19 tests.