COVID: Tokyo reports over 4,000 new cases amid Summer Olympics 2020

Aug 08, 2021

Tokyo [Japan] August 8 : Tokyo on Saturday reported 4,566 COVID-19 cases amid the ongoing Summer Olympics 2020 in the city.
The capital city has crossed a tally of 4,000 new cases for the fourth day in a row. Underscoring the strains on hospitals, the number of people hospitalized in the city reached 3,485, surpassing the previous record of 3,427 in early January, Kyodo News reported.
Meanwhile, the number of new cases associated with Olympics 2020 has reached 404 after another 22 people were tested positive on Saturday.
Japan has reported 15,753 new cases of coronavirus, the latest figures come a day after Japan's cumulative total of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 1 million.
A few days back, Japan had declared a state of emergency to Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, and Okinawa Prefectures and applied priority measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka Prefectures till August 31.
Japan also urged its citizens to refrain from going out or travelling for non-essential, non-urgent reasons.
"We ask people to refrain from going out or travelling for non-essential, non-urgent reasons, and to be as careful and restrained as possible regarding returning to their hometowns during the summer and other travel," PM's Office of Japan tweeted.
"We will continue to do everything in our capacity to implement measures to prevent infections and administer vaccines," added the tweet.
Companies were urged to implement remote working policies, with the goal of reducing the number of commuters by 70 per cent. In-office employees should finish their work by 8 pm and go home directly, reported NHK World.