Japan Medical Association fears medical system will collapse if Covid-19 surge continues

The Japan Medical Association, the country's largest association of doctors, issued an emergency request to Japan's capital to enhance urgency surrounding the Covid-19 surge.

The head of the association, Toshio Nakagawa, called on people to work remotely and complete vaccinations for people aged between 40 and 64, in a televised address on Thursday, reports the CNN.

"We think the medical system will collapse, if this spread of infection continues," Nakagawa said, adding that medical workers are feeling the strain of the spike in cases.

"We have to take all the measures to avoid the explosion of infection and medical system goes under strain," Nakagawa added. 

"As a person who is engaged in medicine, we'd like to issue our emergency statement to the government.

"We hope this will be reflected in the future measurement."

The association also urged the government to make more vaccines available to the public.

Tokyo reported a record number of new cases Thursday for the third consecutive day, adding 3,865 new cases. Nationwide, Japan reported 10,385 new cases -- the first time the country has topped 10,000 new cases since the pandemic began.

This comes as the Games continues full steam ahead, nearing the end of its sixth day of official competition. Tokyo 2020 has reported 198 cases linked to the Games so far.