Amid a surge in novel coronavirus infections in Tokyo, the Japanese government has said that the possibility of again declaring a state of emergency remains an option, but only “in a worst-case scenario.”
Speaking at a regular news conference Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government’s top spokesman, said that although a rise in infections centered in Tokyo have been reported in recent days, these daily numbers were mainly due to cluster infections and a more aggressive testing regime.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Wednesday confirmed 67 new infections of the novel coronavirus — the highest daily figure since 87 were reported on May 4. It was the sixth straight day in which the figure topped 50, with the new cases bringing the cumulative number of infections in Tokyo to 6,292.