An employee wearing a protective mask walks through Haneda Airport on Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan reported 8,393 new coronavirus cases on Monday, almost double the figure confirmed the same day in the previous week, as infections continue to surge in and around the capital where the Olympics are being held.

       The nationwide tally of cases included 2,195 in Tokyo, which confirmed over 3,000 cases for five consecutive days through Sunday, and high numbers in the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, which logged 1,686, 787 and 762 cases, respectively.

       The capital's seven-day rolling average of cases has risen to a record 3,214.4 per day, up 106.9 percent from the previous week. Those experiencing severe symptoms rose by 13 from the previous day to 114.

       According to the prime minister's office, over 50 million people, or around 40 percent of the population, have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

       Three weeks have passed since the central government placed Tokyo under a fourth state of emergency from July 12. But the measure, which mostly relies on a cooperative public and not a hard lockdown as in some countries, has had little effect in slowing infections.

       Although foot traffic in the capital's downtown areas has slightly decreased, the surge in infections comes amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

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