Tokyo logs record 5,042 cases as infections surge amid Games

PTI Updated - August 05, 2021 at 05:13 PM.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has denied the Olympics have caused a rise in infections

A medical worker receives a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as Japan launches its inoculation campaign, at Tokyo Medical Center in Tokyo, Japan February 17, 2021. Behrouz Mehri/Pool via REUTERS

Tokyo reported 5,042 new daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, hitting a record since the pandemic began as the infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics.

The additional cases brought the total for Tokyo to 236,138. Nationwide, Japan reported more than 14,000 cases on Wednesday for a total of 970,000.

Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since mid-July, and four other areas have since been added. But the measures, basically a ban on alcohol in restaurants and bars and their shorter hours, are increasingly ignored by the public, which has become tired of restrictions.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has denied the Olympics have caused a rise in infections.

Published on August 5, 2021 11:27