Tokyo reports record number of COVID-19 cases as Olympic games continue

Tokyo reported record numbers of new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.

Tokyo reported a record number of 3,177 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday as the Olympic games remain underway. It's the second day in a row in which Japan's capital reported record-breaking cases. On Tuesday, the city reported 2,484 COVID-19 cases, which exceeded its previous record of 2,520 cases set on Jan. 7, 2021, according to Kyodo News. Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID) has estimated that the highly contagious delta variant is responsible for nearly 80% of infections in Tokyo. Patients who make up the new cases mainly involve people ranging in age from their 20s to 40s, according to the NIID, which reported an increase in hospitalization in people under the age of 50.