Tokyo Olympics: Japanese officials get worried as cases hit record highs
News 24
As of Wednesday, 26.3 percent of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated. The percentage of fully vaccinated elderly people is 70 percent or 24.8 million people.
According to the Health Ministry, "Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is growing and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people nationwide and 88 in Tokyo." Tokyo reported 3,177 new cases on Wednesday, up from 2,848 on Tuesday, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time. This compares to 18.5 in the United States, 48 in Britain, and 2.8 in India, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Japan reported more than 9,500 confirmed cases, a new record, for a total of 892,000 on Wednesday, with nearly 15,000 deaths. “While almost nothing is helping to slow the infections, there are many factors that can accelerate them,” said Dr. Shigeru Omi, a top government medical adviser, noting the Olympics and summer vacation. The biggest risk is the lack of a sense of crisis and without it, the infections will further expand and put medical systems under severe strain. Ahead of the Olympics, Tokyo has been under a fourth of emergency since July 12, which began last Friday despite widespread public protests and concerns that the Games could worsen the outbreak. People are still taking to the streets despite staying home, largely rendering the measures ineffective at a time when the more contagious Delta strain is spreading, he said. “We have never seen the infections spread so rapidly."More Related News