(Bloomberg) — Japan’s Olympics organizers reported a record number of new daily coronavirus infections linked to the Games, including three athletes, bringing the total to 110 just hours before the opening ceremony is scheduled to start in a nearly empty stadium in Tokyo. Nineteen new Covid-19 cases connected to the event were reported on Friday, the highest daily figure since organizers start
Earlier this month, U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff withdrew from the Games because she contracted Covid-19, and two South African footballers tested positive at the athletes’ village. Toyota Motor Corp. has said it won’t air television advertisements in Japan during the Olympics and its president won’t attend the opening ceremony as concerns about holding the Games amid the pandemic mount. The Games, which will be the first to be held without spectators, have triggered fierce public opposition in Japan, where vaccination rates lag other developed countries. Tokyo is grappling with a surge in coronavirus cases, which prompted the government to declare a fourth state of emergency in the capital earlier this month. Tokyo reported 1,359 new daily infections on Friday, surpassing 1,000.