Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is seen attending a COVID-19 monitoring meeting via online, in this photo taken at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office on July 1, 2021. (Mainichi/Shinji Kurokawa)

       TOKYO -- Experts believe that Tokyo is experiencing a COVID-19 rebound as the number of new coronavirus cases has continued to increase for three straight weeks when compared on a week-by-week basis.

       They presented their view at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's COVID-19 monitoring meeting on July 1. Since the last state of emergency was lifted on June 20, the Japanese capital has seen a surge in the number of people out at night in busy entertainment districts, fueling concerns over a rapid resurgence of coronavirus infections at levels exceeding the third wave of infections that hit Tokyo around the end of 2020 to early months of 2021.

       On July 1, Tokyo saw 673 new coronavirus infections, up 103 from the previous Thursday. According to the metropolitan government, the latest seven-day average of new infections as of June 30 was 502.7, roughly 1.2 times that of the previous week. This means that Tokyo's seven-day average has seen an increase for three weeks in a row.

       If this rate continues, the number of new infections four weeks from now is predicted to hit around 1,043 on July 28 -- about the same as those seen at the beginning of the year when infections surged in Tokyo.

       Experts are strongly concerned over the rapid increase in foot traffic in the capital. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, the seven major entertainment districts in Tokyo saw 21.5% more people out at night (between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m.) in the 10-day period following the lifting of the state of emergency. The foot traffic increase was seen not only during the evening period when eateries are allowed to serve alcohol, but it also jumped during the late-night period between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m.

       Tokyo has also been detecting more cases of the purportedly highly transmissible Delta variant. In the screening tests the metropolitan government conducted between June 14 and 20, the detection rate of the Delta variant was 8.4%.

       Mitsuo Kaku, head of an expert board at the Tokyo Center for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, commented, "The situation is increasingly becoming critical. Now more than ever, we need to urge all-out efforts to thoroughly implement prevention measures as well as to curb foot traffic."

       Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who returned to her official duties on July 1 after being hospitalized for fatigue, joined the monitoring meeting from home. She said, "I had to leave from my duties in the midst of our coronavirus response. I caused many people concern."

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

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