Tokyo confirmed 293 new cases of coronavirus infections Friday, setting another single-day record and surpassing Thursday’s 286, Gov. Yuriko Koike said.
Friday’s figure, which brings the capital’s cumulative total to 8,933, has set a new record in the city for two days in a row, exacerbating the public’s fear of a resurgence.
The central government’s Go To Travel campaign starting next Wednesday has also added fuel to public concern, prompting the government Thursday to exclude Tokyo from the incentive program in an attempt to reduce travelers to and from the capital, and thus reduce the risk of spreading the virus to other regions.
Koike said the rise in confirmed cases reflects an increase in virus tests being conducted in the capital, now standing at over 4,000 a day.
So far, both the metropolitan and central governments have refrained from saying they would immediately put stricter measures back in place, such as the declaring of a state of emergency again after lifting the previous one in late May.
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