Just over a week since the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, fraught with many difficulties, the record-high gold medal rush of Japanese athletes has lifted the spirits of a public that remains largely worried about staging the multinational sporting event amid a once-in-a-century pandemic.
Behind the festive mood, however, the number of daily coronavirus cases is rising at an alarming rate in Japan, where only about 28% of the eligible population were fully vaccinated as of Thursday, when the host city confirmed 3,865 new infections, hitting a record for the third straight day and the nationwide single-day count topped 10,000 for the first time.
Medical experts say the COVID-19 state of emergency declared for Tokyo on July 12, asking restaurants not to serve alcohol, has hardly yielded the desired effect in curbing the rising trend, warning that hospitals are already under increased strain.