By Corky Siemaszko and Arata Yamamoto - NBC News
Severe COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Tokyo as the Olympics take place, the city's governor said on Tuesday, also registering a
record number of new infections.
The growing number of "serious" cases is forcing local hospitals to
add new beds
to treat new patients, Gov. Yukio Koike said.
Meanwhile, daily new cases of COVID-19 reached
2,848 in Tokyo
, surpassing 2,500 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to authorities.
"We are working to secure (enough) beds in the hospitals," Koike told reporters at a meeting of the metropolitan government.
"I am concerned about the gradual increase in the number of serious cases
,
" he
added.
More infections have
also
been recorded in the Olympic Village
, the sealed section of Tokyo where most of the 11,000 athletes competing in the Olympics are housed, Koike added.
"Half of those people are from Japan," Koike said of the new confirmed infections.
The organizing committee reported early Tuesday that two of the seven people linked to the Olympics who recently tested positive were athletes.
This brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases related to the Olympics to 155, according to authorities.
The Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed a year by the pandemic, will run until August 8.
Koike's statement came as Japan continued to celebrate the stunning victory of figure skater Momiji Nishaya, who at age 13 became one of the youngest Olympic gold medal winners in history.