Tokyo's daily new COVID cases to surpass 10,000 by Aug. 18: estimate

TOKYO -- Japan's capital will see over 10,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by Aug. 18 if infections in Tokyo continue increasing at their current pace, according to an estimate presented at a Tokyo Metropolitan Government pandemic monitoring committee meeting on Aug. 5.

One expert at the meeting stated, "We are seeing explosive growth in infections the likes of which we have not experienced before. We need to share this sense of crisis as the reality we face."

Regarding the seven-day moving average for new daily cases, it was estimated at the committee that it would hit 10,909 as of Aug. 18, if infections continue to increase at their current pace. It would mean one in every 1,000 Tokyo residents would be contracting the virus each day.

(Japanese original by Hitomi Saikawa, Tokyo City News Department)