Tokyo in state of emergency ahead of Olympic Games

A state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo which will be in place over the Olympic Games.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said that the state of emergency will be in place until August 22 as Covid infections are rising ahead of the opening ceremony on July 23.

It was also announced that bars and restaurants will have to close by 8pm (11pm GMT) and will not be allowed to serve alcohol, according to the BBC.

There have been calls for the Games in Japan to be cancelled or postponed and organisers are now reportedly considering banning fans from nearly all of the events.

“Taking into consideration the effect of coronavirus variants and not to let the infections spread again to the rest of the nation, we need to strengthen our countermeasures,” the prime minister said.

“Given the situation, we will issue a state of emergency for Tokyo,” he added.

The prime minister made the announcement following a meeting between the government, the organising committee and the  International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach.

The Olympic Games are set to take place in Tokyo between July 23 and August 8, and the Paralympics are scheduled for between August 24 and September 5.

Entry into Japan is currently banned for foreigners as a new wave of infections began in April.

Yesterday, Wednesday, July 7, 2,180 new cases reported in the country. 920 of the cases were in Tokyo, an increase from 714 last week and its highest since 1,010 on 13 May.

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