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The City of Tokyo has entered into a state of emergency. The city was in a quasi-state of emergency from June 20th. Mayor Yoshihide Suga said that the orders will last until August 22nd.
The Olympic Games begin on July 23rd. Tens of thousands of athletes, volunteers, dignitaries, and media will descend up on the nation’s capital as well as Sapporo where the marathons and racewalks will be taking place.
An increase in new COVID-19 cases and concerns over new variants led to the decision to place the capital back in a state of emergency.
The Japanese Government is hoping to restrict people travelling during the summer break until vaccinations rose further.
The state of emergency led to the Government confirming last week that all spectators would be banned from all stadiums and venues in Tokyo.
According to worldometers.com, Japan has had the 34th most total infections in the world. The current new case count nationally this week is at 2,032. Their numbers pale in comparison to places like the U.S., (34-million) India (30-million) and Russia with more than 25,000 new cases. Japan has had just 820,000 cases total, which is low for the densely populated nation.
