Delta coronavirus variant surges in Japan, Olympics spike expected

Pandemic adviser says cases of the mutant strain are rising rapidly and that its progress suggests a new spike will occur just as the Olympics begin

Development comes as the Japanese government considers whether to return to a full state of emergency

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The Olympic rings float in the water near Odaiba island in Tokyo. Photo: AP

Published: 2:47pm, 1 Jul 2021Updated: 4:02pm, 1 Jul 2021

With just over three weeks before the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Japanese capital is witnessing a surge in cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus – a situation described by one government adviser as “very, very worrying”.

The number of new cases recorded in Tokyo on Wednesday came to 714, up 95 from one week earlier and above the 700 threshold for the first time since May 26. The daily tally for the week came to 508.4, up more than 20 per cent from the previous week.

Health authorities reported 71 confirmed cases of the Delta mutation of the disease across the nation in the week to Monday, virtually double the 36 cases in the preceding seven-day period and bringing the total to 224 infections in 15 prefectures. Forty-two of the cases were in Tokyo, with a further 71 in the neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa and Chiba.

The true picture is likely to be worse, experts admit, as a further 842 cases across the nation are suspected of being the Delta variety.

“I have to admit that the situation is very, very worrying,” said Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases and a member of the advisory committee set up last year to advise the government on how to handle the pandemic.

“We are seeing the numbers increase rapidly and our expectation is that by mid-July, more than half of all new infections will be of the Delta variant,” he said.

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