COVID-19 cases on rise in Tokyo as Olympics near

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Tokyo on Wednesday reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily number since May 13, as Japan’s capital is all set to host the Olympics and Paralympics games next week.

Tokyo will host the world’s biggest games from July 23.

The Japanese capital registered 1,149 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency.

Tokyo and its surrounding provinces are under a state of emergency as the number of infections continues to rise.

Japan has reported a total of 824,589 coronavirus cases, including 14,971 deaths, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in December 2019.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with Thomas Bach, visiting head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to “ensure COVID-19 countermeasures are enforced among athletes and staff participating in the Tokyo Olympics.”

“As the host of the games, I do hope the IOC will make efforts so that all athletes and stakeholders will fully comply with restrictions on coming into contact with the Japanese public,” Suga said.

Thomas Bach, for his part, said strict countermeasures are being enforced and promised to “not bring any risk to the Japanese people.”
Bach arrived in Tokyo last Thursday and was quarantined for three days at a hotel.

On Tuesday, he met Seiko Hashimoto, head of the Japanese organizing committee, to discuss the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Tokyo Olympics was set for the summer of 2020 but were delayed until this month due to the pandemic.