Photo/Illutration President of the Japan Community Health Care Organization Shigeru Omi attends a news conference in Tokyo on June 17. (Pool Photo via AP)

Japan’s top medical adviser for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government urged authorities to step up virus measures ahead of the Olympics and asked the people to avoid trips.

Tokyo registered 1,271 new cases Friday, the day after recording a six-month high of 1,308.

Dr. Shigeru Omi, who heads a government COVID-19 taskforce, says the next two months will be the “most crucial stage” in Japan’s fight against the pandemic. He urged people to watch the Olympics on TV at home with family members or close friends in small groups.

Omi says the ongoing upsurge in the Tokyo region is likely to accelerate, with the summer vacation, the Olympics and the Buddhist holiday week in August when people are likely to travel.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week declared a fourth state of emergency in Tokyo, which started Monday and lasts until Aug. 22. Nationwide, Japan has reported 830,000 cases and 15,000 confirmed deaths.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach had suggested to Suga that if the virus situation improved spectators could be let into stadiums, media said.

Omi said that it was unlikely that the number of daily coronavirus infection cases would fall in a short span of time to levels that justify holding the Games with spectators.

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