Tokyo records biggest single-day COVID tally since the inception of pandemic amid Olympics

COVID worries continue in Tokyo as the city reported 5,042 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday. The latest tally marks the city’s biggest single-day count since the pandemic began. Infections continue to surge since mid-July in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics. Tokyo and four other areas in the country are currently under a state of emergency. Meanwhile, Japan registered more than 14,000 new cases taking the total cases tally to 970,460.

COVID-19 in Tokyo 

Tokyo has been witnessing a strong surge in its COVID tally since July. Alarmed by the sudden spread, health experts are calling for the state of emergency to be expanded nationwide. On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced a milder version of the emergency measures in eight prefectures, including Fukushima in the east and Kumamoto in the south, beginning Monday. The less-stringent measures will allow businesses to run in the areas. Meanwhile, Suga has been constantly receiving criticism for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite the coronavirus surge in Tokyo.

“We need to tackle the situation now that we have a stronger sense of urgency,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters, referring to Tokyo exceeding 5,000 new daily cases for the first time. “The infections are expanding at a pace we have never experienced before.” Responding to the criticism against him, the PM said that there was no evidence linking the increase in cases to the Olympic Games.

The PM urged people to stay at home during the summer vacation and asked them to follow COVID safety protocols in place. Earlier, it was reported that the public's health measures were being increasingly ignored by the capital. PM Suga also pledged to carry out more vaccinations to “prevent the further spread of the virus.” However, Japanese health experts believe that the people’s non-cooperation comes due to the Olympics being held in the city.  

TPR in Tokyo stands at 20 per cent

Experts on a Tokyo metropolitan government panel have cautioned that the city’s infections exceed the 10,000-mark in the coming days. According to the government reports, the current surge is propelled by the more contagious delta variant of the COVID-19. Tokyo’s test positivity rate stands at 20 per cent, indicating a significant spread of infections. In Tokyo, nearly 17,000 patients with mild symptoms are currently isolating at home and more than 10,000 are in wait for hospital beds or special hotels.

IMAGE: AP/ PIXABAY

(With Agency Inputs)