Tokyo has recorded its highest ever number of daily Covid-19 infections, with officials growing increasing alarmed by the country’s outbreak.
The capital. which is currently hosting the 2020 Olympic Games, announced 3,177 new infections on Wednesday, several hundred higher than the 2,848 seen on Tuesday.
This comes as the country had more than 10,000 cases on Thursday, the most cases seen in a 24-hour period since the start of the pandemic.
“We have never experienced an expansion in the infections of this magnitude,” chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said.
In response, Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese prime minister, said the government will decide on Friday whether to declare regional states of emergency.
Meanwhile, federal workers in the US will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested regularly, reports suggest.
President Joe Biden is expected to announce the policy in a press conference later on Thursday. It will affect at least 2.18 million civilian employees.
