‘Serious’ Covid-19 cases increase in Tokyo during Olympics

TOKYO – Severe cases of Covid-19 are increasing in Tokyo as the Olympics unfold, the city’s governor said on Tuesday as the Japanese capital saw a record number of new infections.

The growing number of “severe” cases is forcing local hospitals to add new beds to treat new patients, Governor Yukio Koike said.

Meanwhile, daily new cases of Covid-19 have reached 2,848 in Tokyo, surpassing 2,500 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to Tokyo officials.

“We are working to secure hospital beds,” Koike told reporters at a meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. “I am concerned about the gradual increase in the number of severe cases.”

Other Covid infections have also been reported in the Olympic Village, the closed section of Tokyo where most of the 11,000 athletes competing in the Olympics stay, Koike added.

“Half of these people are from Japan,” Koike said of the newly confirmed infections.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee reported earlier on Tuesday that two of seven people linked to the Olympics who recently tested positive were athletes. This brings the number of confirmed cases of Covid linked to the Olympics to 155, officials said.

The Tokyo Olympics, which have been delayed for a year by the Covid-19 crisis, are expected to run until August 10.

Koike’s admission came as Japan continued to celebrate the astonishing victory of skateboarder Momiji Nishaya, who at 13 became one of the youngest Olympic gold medalists.

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The Japanese government, which pushed the Games forward despite widespread opposition across the country, had hoped that Olympic success would change public opinion.

So far, Japanese athletes have won 13 medals, including eight gold medals, according to the latest Olympic tally.

In a recent interview with NBC News, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga admitted that it has been difficult to convince his compatriots, who fear that an influx of athletes from around the world will fuel the pandemic, that the Olympics of Tokyo would be a boon for Japan.

Japan has seen an increase in new cases of Covid-19, but it has recorded far fewer cases (876,059) and deaths (15,084) than the United States, which leads the world with 34.5 million infections and nearly 611,000 deaths, according to the latest statistics. .

But while 49% of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, only 25% of the Japanese population has received both vaccines, statistics show.

“So I think it’s important for young people and for all of you to get vaccinated,” Koike told reporters.