The Japanese government has decided to place Tokyo under a Covid-19 state of emergency, its fourth so far. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide announced it will be in effect from July 12 to August 22. That will include the duration of the Tokyo Olympics.

Addressing a news conference here, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the occupancy rate of hospital beds and the number of patients in serious condition remain low due to the vaccine rollout, but infection cases in Tokyo were rising due to the spread of the Delta variant. "We must avoid another outbreak starting in Tokyo. With that in mind, we decided to take pre-emptive measures, and declare a state of emergency for Tokyo once again." Suga’s statement reads. "Holding a safe and secure Games amid the coronavirus pandemic is a good opportunity to show our global unity to overcome the current difficulties together," he added.

Health authorities reported 896 new infections on Thursday, marking the 19th straight day cases have gone up compared to the week before. Japan has so far reported 811,712 coronavirus cases, with 14,897 deaths.

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