WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
By Reuters Published: Apr 01, 2021 07:23 PM
Osaka prefectural governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Thursday the Olympic torch relay in the city of Osaka should be canceled amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.
Yoshimura had sounded the alarm the previous day that a jump in new coronavirus cases in Osaka was raising fears the western Japanese metropolis was entering a fresh wave of infections that could become its worst yet.
The prefecture, which had just emerged from a COVID-19 state of emergency a month ago, reported 599 new cases on Wednesday. That was a jump from 432 on Tuesday and near the all-time high of 654 set on January 8.