Protest against Olympic Games amid rising Covid cases
Over 1300 cases reported in Tokyo metropolitan in a day
Tokyo, July 23 (UNI/Sputnik/Xinhua): A protest against holding Olympic Games started in Tokyo near a stadium during an opening ceremony of the event on Friday.
Protesters who demand to spend money on Covid-19 response instead of the Olympics can be heard from inside the stadium.
Large-scale demonstrations are also underway in downtown Tokyo.
The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 1,359 new Covid-19 cases on Friday amid public concern that infections could hit record highs during the Tokyo Olympics, local media reported.
The seven-day rolling average of cases is 1,386 per day, an increase of 46.5% from the previous week. Tokyo is currently under a fourth Covid-19 state of emergency until August 22.
Health experts advising the Tokyo metropolitan government have warned that Tokyo might face a “critical” Covid-19 situation if the virus continues to spread at the current rate, and concerns about the transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant have also been on the rise.
According to the estimation of the health experts, daily infections could increase to about 2,600 cases in early August during the Olympics, which will close on August 8.
