Olympics host Tokyo sees record number of daily new COVID cases
ANKARA, July 28 -- Host of the world’s biggest games, Olympics 2020, Tokyo on Wednesday reported the biggest daily jump in COVID-19 cases.
The number of virus cases crossed 3,000 today, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting the Tokyo-based Kyodo News, citing Japanese government sources. It is the first time the capital recorded such a high number of daily infections since the coronavirus outbreak.
The all-time high cases follow 2,848 coronavirus infections on Tuesday despite a state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding provinces to stem the spread of the infections.
The rise in infections comes at a time when Tokyo is hosting the Olympics and Paralympics Games under strict COVID-19 measures since last weekend. The infection is also spreading among the officials and participants.
At least 16 more cases were reported among the Olympic staff on Wednesday, but not among the athletes. Until today, 169 such cases have been reported.
“We want to make a commitment to keep hosting a safe and secure games until the end,” Masanori Takaya, a spokesman for the organising committee, told a news conference.
Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba provinces are witnessing a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant of the virus.
Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba provinces are also mulling to ask the central government to expand the state of emergency in these regions due to rising infections.
-- BERNAMA
