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In the Olympic city of Tokyo, the number of new daily infections has risen to the highest level since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 2,848 new cases were recorded today, authorities said.
Yesterday, there were 1,429 cases, twice as many as a week earlier. Hospitals were preparing to admit additional Covid 19 patients. The number of beds for these cases is expected to increase by about 440 to 6,406, broadcaster TBS reported.
Olympic Games under criticism
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the new situation posed no problem for the Olympics. However, he called on Tokyoites to work from home to avoid unnecessary risk of infection.
This threatens further criticism of the Olympic Games, which are already controversial in parts of the population. The competitions had already been postponed by a year because of the pandemic.
Low vaccination rate
Many Japanese fear that the virus could be brought in by the athletes and their companions. In a poll published yesterday by the Nikkei newspaper, 31 percent of respondents called for the cancellation or postponement of the games.
The former director at the Institute of Public Health at King’s College London, Kenji Shibuya, attributed the rise in infections to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. However, he said, it is impossible to determine how large a part the Olympics played in this development.
So far, only 36 percent of Japanese have received at least one vaccination.
source: ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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