The IOC has faced increased calls for Tokyo 2020 to be postponed, amid uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has had a considerable impact on the sporting calendar, with numerous Olympic qualification events either being postponed or cancelled.

Concerns have been raised over athletes being unable to train for the Games, as several countries have been locked down by Governments to curb the spread of the virus.

Britain's four-time Olympic rowing gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent recently said Bach has been "tone-deaf" in response to the coronavirus pandemic, adding that he believes Tokyo 2020 should not go ahead.

But in an interview with The New York Times, Bach gave assurances that the IOC is firmly in touch with reality.

"We are affected by this crisis like everyone else and we are concerned like everybody else," he said.

"We are not living in a bubble or on another planet.

"We are in the middle of our societies."

Asked whether there is a group working out what would be needed to move Tokyo 2020 to a later date, Bach added: "This would mean we are speculating about developments.

"We don’t know what the situation will be.

"Of course we are considering different scenarios, but we are contrary to many other sports organisations or professional leagues in that we are four and a half months away from the Games.

"They are even more optimistic than we are, because most of them have postponed their events until April or the end of May.

"We are talking about the end of July."

Pinsent is among the many athletes to call for Tokyo 2020 not to go ahead.

IOC Athletes' Commission member Hayley Wickenheiser earlier this week claimed the IOC's insistence the Olympics will go ahead as planned was "irresponsible".

Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece echoed Wickenheiser's comments, accusing the IOC of leaving athletes "at risk".

Despite this, the IOC has said there is no need for "any drastic decisions at this stage" in relation to Tokyo 2020.

"What makes this crisis so unique and so difficult to overcome is the uncertainty," Bach said.

"Nobody today can tell you what the developments are tomorrow, what they are in one month, not to mention in more than four months. 

"Therefore, it would not be responsible in any way to set a date or take a decision right now, which would be based on the speculation about the future developments."

He added: "There are many different prognoses. 

"Some are telling you it will everywhere follow the same curve. 

"Others are saying this will take much longer.

"The third ones are saying there will be different waves and we will have to live with it for a long time. 

"This is why we rely on our task force, including the World Health Organization, who are telling us it is too early to take a decision, and we are at the same time monitoring closely what is happening."

The global coronavirus death toll has reportedly now exceeded 10,000.

The number of confirmed cases is fast approaching 250,000.