Japan reported 8,393 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, nearly double the figure confirmed on the same day in the previous week, as infections continued to surge in and around Tokyo where the Olympics are being held.
Tokyo, after reporting over 3,000 cases for five consecutive days, on Monday confirmed 2,195 cases, and the surrounding prefectures, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama, logged 1,686, 787, and 762 cases, respectively, Xinhua reported.
People in their 20s and 30s accounted for the majority of Monday’s infections in Tokyo, with 773 and 520, respectively.
Tokyo’s seven-day rolling average of cases has increased to a record 3,214.4 per day, rising 106.9 per cent from the previous week. Patients experiencing severe symptoms increased by 13 from the previous day to 114.
According to the prime minister’s office, more than 50 million people, or about 40 per cent of Japan’s population, have taken at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Tokyo entered the fourth state of emergency on July 12.
Although foot traffic in Tokyo’s downtown areas has slightly reduced, the turning point of the number of infections is yet to come amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the Covid-19.
