Tokyo has reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time days after the start of the Olympics.
The new cases Wednesday exceeded the earlier record of 2,848, which was set the previous day. It brings the total for the Japanese capital to 206,745 since the pandemic began early last year.
Tokyo has been under its fourth state of emergency since July 12, ahead of the Olympics, which began last Friday despite widespread public opposition and concern that they could further worsen the outbreak.
Experts say Tokyo’s surge is being propelled by the new, more contagious delta variant of the virus.
Japan as a whole reported nearly 8,000 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, ranking among its highest single-day totals since the start of the pandemic. Japan has seen 893,000 cases since the virus reached the country, and 15,000 people have died.
Johns Hopkins lists 137 cases directly connected to the 2021 Summer Olympics, all of them occurring in the last nine days. Forty-six of those cases were reported on Monday.