Tokyo's Covid-19 cases exceed 1,000 for 7th consecutive day

Hosting the Olympics under the fourth Covid-19 state of emergency, Tokyo reported 1,429 new daily Covid-19 infections on Monday, exceeding the 1,000-mark for the seventh day in a row, local media reported on Monday.

Due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections, the cumulative tally of cases in Tokyo has exceeded 200,000. Moreover, people are highly concerned about the spread of the Delta variant of the virus in Japan, especially with the Olympics underway, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Comparing with the figures of infection on the same day last week, the latest figure increased 702, topping the previous record for a Monday of 1,252 confirmed cases on January 11.

Tokyo also reported a record 1,763 cases for a Sunday the previous day.

Health experts advising the metropolitan government have warned that if the virus continues to spread at the current pace, the seven-day rolling average of cases, which increased 41.2 per cent from the previous week to 1,553.9 per day, could also hit a new high on August 3 during the Olympics.

The state of emergency in Tokyo lasts until August 22, covering the entire period of the Olympics being held through August 8.