TOKYO – Japan’s daily Covid-19 cases topped 9,000 for the first time yesterday, with a surge in infections in the capital casting a pall over the Olympics and putting pressure on the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to take stronger countermeasures.
According to the Kyodo news agency, Tokyo confirmed 3,177 infections, hitting a record for a second straight day and pushing up the nationwide tally to exceed the previous all-time high of 7,958 set on January 8, as hospitals come under increasing strain.
The surge comes as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads and people in the city here tire of restrictions under a state of emergency.
The record high comes just a day after Tokyo logged 2,848 new cases, breaking its previous record of 2,520 on January 7.
The coronavirus has spread rapidly elsewhere, with the nationwide tally of daily cases that was below 2,000 early this month surpassing 4,000 a week ago, 5,000 on Thursday, and 7,000 on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the daily count for the whole of Japan hit 9,583, bringing the country’s cumulative total to nearly 900,000, while Tokyo’s neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba reported record single-day highs of 1,051, 870 and 577, respectively.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases has estimated that Delta is now responsible for about 70% of infections in the metropolitan area.
Olympic organisers have pledged to implement adequate Covid-19 countermeasures for a “safe and secure” Games, and stressed that the number of infections among athletes and others associated with the sporting extravaganza remains very low.
The capital’s seven-day rolling case average has risen to 1,954.7 daily, up 53% from the previous week.
The government has placed Tokyo under a fourth state of emergency, which mostly relies on a cooperative public and does not entail a hard lockdown like in some countries, from July 12 to August 22.
Still, some restaurants and bars have ignored calls to stop serving alcohol and close early due to the government lagging behind in disbursing “cooperation money” meant to help them cover lost revenue.
Of the 3,177 cases in Tokyo, 1,078 are patients in their 20s and 680 in their 30s.
The governors of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa will ask the federal government, possibly today, for their prefectures to be placed under a state of emergency.
As early as tomorrow, the government will convene a meeting to decide on the matter, said an official.
Meanwhile, the Olympic organising committee yesterday said another 16 people linked to the Games – none of them athletes – have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total since the start of July to 169. – Bernama, July 29, 2021
