Four days after the opening, the Tokyo Olympics are entering a critical phase.

The host city's government reported 2,848 new infections with the coronavirus on Tuesday.

This means that the number of infections has not only doubled compared to the previous day.

It's also a sad record for Tokyo.

Within one day, the seven-day incidence rose from around 78 to 88 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The authorities are alarmed that a further increase in the number of cases could overload medical capacities.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan, based in Tokyo.

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The rapid increase in infections in the population is terrifying.

Experts estimate that around 60 percent of infections are now due to the delta variant.

Of course, it makes sense to look for a connection with the Olympic Games.

If the organizers cannot get rid of this assumption, the games threaten to go down in history, rightly or wrongly, as the Corona Games.

Spectators at the bike race

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) holds against it. "The Olympians are the most tested and possibly the most vaccinated community in the world," says the IOC spokesman. The IOC presents current statistics on the infection situation among the participants on a daily basis. As of Wednesday, the organizers had counted 169 cases of infection around the games since July 1. 79 of the infected had entered Japan. With around 38,000 Olympic guests from abroad, that is 0.2 percent. Among the 169 cases of infection are 21 athletes, 53 supervisors or officials and nine journalists. The majority of those infected at the Olympics are 71 workers from external service providers who may have caught the virus outside of the Olympic community.

But the IOC's view of the participants in the games is too narrow to fully assess the corona risks of the sporting event.

Virologists warn that the games can set the Japanese in motion, helping to spread the virus.

On the day of the opening ceremony, several hundred people gathered in front of the stadium to at least be outside the door.

On the routes of the outdoor competitions, such as the bike races, the spectators sometimes jostle.

Warnings from professionals

Many residents of the capital also took advantage of the four-day weekend that the government created to open the games to escape Tokyo.

That could have spread the Delta variant outside of the city, warn experts.

Such effects will only show up in the statistics in the coming days and weeks.

So far, in the pandemic, every accumulation of vacation days that drive people from the metropolitan areas to the province has caused the number of infections to rise a week or two later. The television station NHK counted more than 7600 new infections nationwide on Tuesday. This number was last higher at the beginning of January.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, on the other hand, argues that the games reduce the risk of infection. The traffic controls in Tokyo and home office during the Olympic weeks reduced the movements of the Japanese. There is no need to stop the games. "That won't happen," said Suga. Other statistics show that more people were counted at major transport hubs in the capital on the opening weekend than before. On Monday and Tuesday, the city center seemed emptier than normal. The picture is mixed. He's asking the Japanese to watch the Olympic competitions on TV, Suga said.