Tokyo governor vows city's medical system is ready for Games

TOKYO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Tuesday that a sufficient number of hospitals combined with a speed-up in the vaccination rollout among the elderly meant the city will be able to hold "safe and secure" Olympics in ten days.

But Koike, speaking to Reuters in an interview at the Tokyo government headquarters which has for the last few weeks doubled as a vaccination site, also warned that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and the spreading Delta variant remains a risk. "Very many people will be vaccinated in the coming ten days and during the Olympics. The biggest change as a result of that will be a substantive fall in the ratio of deaths and severe cases among the elderly," Koike said.