Kantaro Komiya/Associated Press
- New COVID-19 cases in Tokyo broke a daily record high for the third consecutive day Thursday.
- Tokyo saw 3,865 new cases Thursday, topping its earlier record of 3,177 on Wednesday.
- Officials have warned the public to take the threat seriously.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
New COVID-19 cases in Tokyo – where the 2020 Olympic Games are underway – broke a daily record high for the third consecutive day Thursday and Japanese officials are sounding the alarm on the matter.
"We have never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters, according to the Associated Press.
The official explained that new COVID-19 cases were not only surging in the Japanese capital but also across the country.
Tokyo saw 3,865 new cases Thursday, topping its earlier record of 3,177 on Wednesday, according to the news outlet.
Japan tallied a record-breaking more than 9,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday.
COVID-19 has so far infected more than 903,000 people in Japan and killed more than 15,100, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
"While almost nothing is helping to slow the infections, there are many factors that can accelerate them," Dr. Shigeru Omi, a top government medical adviser, said as he pointed to the Olympics and summer vacation, the AP reported.
Omi added, "The biggest risk is the lack of a sense of crisis, and without it the infections will further expand and put medical systems under severe strain."
The 2020 Tokyo Games officially kicked off last week without spectators due to rising coronavirus cases.
Tokyo is currently under its fourth COVID-19 state of emergency since the start of the global pandemic.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said it will be decided Friday whether the government will broaden the emergency orders, according to the AP.