Rising corona infection numbers: Olympic city of Tokyo imposes an emergency

Two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games, the Japanese Prime Minister Suga declared a corona emergency in Tokyo. The reason for the now fourth state of emergency is the sharp rise in the number of infections.

During the Olympic Games, the corona emergency will again prevail in Tokyo. This was decided by the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga after the number of corona infections had recently risen sharply again.

It is now the fourth state of emergency in the Japanese capital. This will apply from next Monday until August 22, it said. The Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 23rd to August 8th.

However, the state of emergency is not a lockdown with tough curfews like in other countries. While citizens are called upon to stay at home if possible, restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol, offer karaoke and have to close earlier than normal in the evening.

Japanese fear superspreader event

In the metropolis of millions, 900 new infections were registered yesterday – a new high. With vaccinations stalled, the government is under pressure to regain confidence.

Because many people in Japan fear that the Summer Olympics could turn into a superspreader event. Japan’s Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee have always emphasized that everything will be “safe”.

Experts call for audience restrictions

In a parliamentary session yesterday, the government’s top health advisor appealed to the government to reduce the number of spectators at the Olympics as much as possible. Discussions are to exclude fans entirely or to limit them to 5,000 and only allow officials, sponsors and important personalities to enter the competition venues.

For the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in just over two weeks, that would mean that the athletes would enter the stadium in front of almost empty stands.

According to media reports, Japan’s organizers want to make a decision on this today with the central government, the city administration of Tokyo as well as the IOC and the Paralympic Committee.

With information from Kathrin Erdmann