Amid Paralympics 2021, Tokyo reports 2,909 COVID cases

This brings the total tally to 1,25,000 cases in the city for the month of August

Tokyo: Japan's capital city of Tokyo on Tuesday (August 31) reported 2,909 new COVID 19 cases bringing the total tally to 1,25,000 cases in the city for the month of August amid the ongoing 2021 Paralympics games in the city. This is almost triple the number of infections recorded last month, Kyodo News reported citing the metropolitan government.

Japan has recorded 17,713 cases nationwide. "The number of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms increased by 35 from the previous day to 2,110, hitting a record high for the 19th consecutive day," the health ministry said. The country has been battling with the Delta variant of the deadly virus and the health system is on the verge of cutting edges.

The developments came after the Japanese government on Friday decided to allocate 13 billion US dollars from the fiscal reserve for 2021 for the additional procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, Fena reported. The budget measure came two days after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that the government would respond to "urgent tasks" such as providing enough vaccines and drugs to treat coronavirus.

Japan, which lags behind other developed economies in the vaccination process, is trying to vaccinate all those who can and want to receive the vaccine in the period from October to November, Suga said.