Nearly 2,000 new COVID cases in Tokyo on eve of Olympics

Jul 21, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; A reporter from KBS reports in front of the Olympic Rings outside the Olympic Stadium before the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network

There were nearly 2,000 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo reported Thursday, the city’s highest daily total since January.

The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Japan’s capital is scheduled for Friday.

The 1,979 new coronavirus cases were 671 more than the total from last Thursday and the most since 2,044 were recorded on Jan. 15.

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Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since July 12, but infections have continued to climb since then. Only about 23 percent of Japanese are fully vaccinated, compared to about 50 percent in the U.S. and Canada.

Spectators are banned from all venues in the Tokyo area for the Summer Olympics, which were delayed for a year by the pandemic.

–Field Level Media