Olympic host Japan records highest number of new COVID-19 cases since start of pandemic

Tokyo — The number of new coronavirus cases registered in Tokyo on Wednesday was the highest since the start of the pandemic, topping 3,170. The nationwide total also hit a new high of 8,160 cases reported in a single day as the 2020 Olympic Games continued, with doctors warning that the host city's medical system faced being overwhelmed.

At the Showa University Hospital in Tokyo, the highly infectious Delta variant now accounts for 70% of all cases of COVID-19, hospital director Dr. Hironori Sagara told CBS News. Young patients are filling up the wards, and Sagara said the Olympics are partly to blame. "Even though spectators have been banned at Olympic events, crowds are gathering outside venues. So we can assume cases will rise," Sagara said.