Signs of another COVID-19 rebound in Tokyo are beginning to emerge only days after the capital’s state of emergency was lifted.
During a meeting at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday, infectious disease experts warned that new cases in the capital have been increasing steadily for two weeks, foot traffic has grown since virus measures were loosened and highly contagious variants are spreading rapidly.
“I don’t believe Tokyo has entered a fifth wave yet, but we’re certainly seeing the early signs of a rebound,” Mitsuo Kaku, an epidemiologist from Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University who advises the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and serves as chair of Tokyo iCDC, the organization leading Tokyo's vaccine rollout, told reporters on Thursday.