Japan's Virus Surge Continues During Olympics

With four days to go before the end of the Tokyo Olympics, Japan's COVID-19 virus surge continues. The Olympic host city registered 4,166 new cases on Wednesday, the highest daily total ever. Unsurprisingly, the virus’ resurgence has been clouding the Olympics for the Japanese, especially since Tokyo is going to be in a state of emergency for the entirety of the games.

As the following chart shows, Japan as a whole is currently facing a strong fifth wave of COVID-19. The seven-day average of new cases has about doubled over the past week, and with the Delta variant taking hold and just 31 percent of the population fully vaccinated, health experts are fearing a continuation of the explosive growth of new infections.

Despite the turmoil, Japanese athletes have been successful at this year's Games, so far having taken home 21 gold medals - the third-most of any nations behind China and the United States.