(Photo : Getty Images/Tomohiro Ohsumi/)
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 26: Commuters wearing face masks make their way to work on March 26, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike held a press conference last night to request citizens to refrain from going outside this weekend for nonessential reasons after 41 cases of new coronavirus infections were confirmed yesterday. She warned that Tokyo, one of the largest and most densely populated cities on earth, could face a lockdown if there is a surge in new coronavirus cases.
With the ongoing event of the 2020 Olympic Games, Japanese officials on Tuesday raised concern as Japan's capital city of Tokyo made a record of COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day. The city recorded 3,865 new cases Thursday, which doubled the numbers of the previous week and is ahead of the 3,177 cases on Wednesday.
Japan recorded over 9,500 new infections throughout the country on Wednesday. It is a record-breaking high for the second succeeding day. Several of the Japanese public were concerned that the Olympics and thousands of international arrivals would ignite more COVID-19 cases prior to the Games.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, they have never underwent the the infections' expansion of this rate.
7-Day Rolling Average Growing
Japan has maintained its fatalities and cases lower compared to many other nations. According to the Health Ministry, however, its one-week rolling average is rising. It currently stands at 28 per 100,000 people countrywide. Eighty-eight were recorded in Tokyo. Data from Johns Hopkins University compares the numbers to 48 in the United Kingdom, 18.5 in the United States, and 2.8 in India.
On the Olympic Games and summer vacation, Dr. Shigeru Omi, a top government medical adviser, stated, "While almost nothing is helping to slow the infections, there are many factors that can accelerate them. The biggest risk is the lack of a sense of crisis and without it, the infections will further expand and put medical systems under severe strain," reported Santa Maria Times.
Finger-Pointing at Olympic Games
The 2020 Olympics has been touted as the cause that have brought the press, competitors, and officials across the globe to Japan where merely 26% of the population are fully inoculated.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) remarked the Japanese public should be affirmed by the rigid measures being impelemented to control cases associated with the Olympics.However, officials have denied a link between the Games and the surge in COVID-19 cases, reported iTV.
According to Taro Kono, the country's vaccine minister, there is no proof of Olympic athletes transmitting COVID-19 to the public. He added they are not concerned regarding the issue, reported Yahoo.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said they have implemented mitigation measures. These include sterner border controls to alleviate the prevalence of COVID-19 by foreign visitors. He therefore noted that he believes there is no association between the Games and the surge of cases.
In order to diminish the risk of infection, Suga reiterated for people to watch the Olympics at their houses instead of groups in public.
4th State of Emergency
Since July 12, the Japanese capital city has been imposed its fourth state of emergency prior to the Games. Notwithstanding prevalent public opposition and concern that the event could aggravate the spread, the Olympics commenced on Friday.
People continue to mill around the streets despite quarantine advisories. This renders the emergency measures ineffective at a timing when the more infectious Delta strain is becoming prevalent.
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