COVID-19 Infections in Tokyo Reach 6-Month High Days Before Olympic Games

By Teddy Grant Published: July 21, 2021

COVID-19 Infections in Tokyo Reach 6-Month High Days Before Olympic Games

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, a man and a woman walk past near the Olympic rings floating in the water in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. More than 80% of people in Japan who were surveyed in two polls in the last few days say the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled or postponed, or say they believe the Olympics will not take place. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

COVID-19 cases in Tokyo hit a six-month high on Wednesday, two days before the Olympic games.

The city, which is under its fourth state of emergency, said that there were 1,832 new cases of people infected with the virus. Tokyo’s state of emergency will last the entire duration of the Olympics, according to The Associated Press.

“What we have worried about is now actually happening,” Japan Medical Association President Toshio Nakagawa said at a weekly news conference. “The surge in cases has been expected whether we have the Olympics or not, and we are afraid that there will be an explosive increase in cases regardless of the Olympics.”

Due to the rising COVID-19 cases, fans are barred from arenas in the Tokyo area. According to The New York Times, the Japanese have expressed that they thought the Games should be delayed again because of the rising cases.

The country has seen more than 84,000 COVID-19 cases and over 15,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.