Two days before the Olympic Games opened, the number of new infections in Tokyo rose to its highest level since mid-January. On Wednesday, the capital reported 1832 new infections within one day. That is 680 more cases than a week ago. The significant increase in view of the delta variant of the virus is fueling public concerns about further spread. Experts had already warned ahead of the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games on Friday that new infections could rise to over 3,000 within a day at the beginning of August during the Games. The situation could become "critical".
Shigeru Omi, head of the Japanese government's COVID-19 task force, expects record numbers over the course of the Olympic Games.
At the beginning of August, almost 3,000 new cases will be added every day, said Omi.
“It may well be that the current number of cases will double by then.” In contrast to the beginning of the year, more people are currently being admitted to hospitals despite an increasing vaccination rate.
Tokyo is now in the fourth state of emergency until well after the end of the Olympic Games.
This is provisionally set until August 22nd.
However, if events develop as feared, the emergency measures are likely to be extended.
In surveys, a majority of the Japanese population had repeatedly spoken out in favor of a repeated postponement or cancellation of the games.
However, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, said Japan “need not be concerned about security”.
More corona cases among athletes
Meanwhile, three other athletes tested positive for the corona virus before the Tokyo Olympics began.
These are the Dutch skateboarder Candy Jacobs (31), the Chilean taekwondo fighter Fernanda Aguirre (23) and an American beach volleyball player.
Jacobs made her case public on Instagram on Wednesday.
She cannot start at the Olympic premiere of her sport next Monday.
The National Olympic Committee of Chile announced that Aguirre had already tested positive on arrival in Japan and could not compete either. Both must be quarantined just like an American beach volleyball player. USA Volleyball confirmed a positive test, but did not name the person concerned.
"My heart is broken," wrote Jacobs, who finished fourth in the 2019 World Cup: "I feel healthy and have done everything in my power to prevent this scenario." According to her statement, all regulations have been met so that her skateboarding Teammates can compete despite the incident. "I need some time for my broken heart to heal and for me to recover," wrote Jacobs. Aguirre also shows no symptoms and is in "good health". According to his association, the US beach volleyball player also has no health problems.
Shortly before the opening of the summer games, the organizers had previously identified eight more corona cases. As the organizing committee announced in the daily report published on Wednesday, there is also an athlete among them who does not live in the Olympic village. Overall, the number of positive tests determined by the organizers since July 1st rose to 75.
95 percent of the approximately 430 German Olympic athletes start at the Tokyo Games fully vaccinated. As Alfons Hörmann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, announced on Wednesday, there was even a corona vaccination requirement for the doctors and the DOSB's functional team. Neither the Japanese nor the International Olympic Committee had specified this. "But we also wanted to show our special respect for the citizens and the hosts in Tokyo and clearly signal: We are doing everything we can to ensure that the games can be implemented safely and responsibly," said Hörmann.