The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 295 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking the capital’s second-highest daily count of the pandemic, Gov. Yuriko Koike said.
She said people in their 20s and 30s account for about 60 percent of total infections but cases are also growing among those in their 40s and 50s and are also spreading from the central wards to the Tama region in western Tokyo. Koike is urging residents to stay home and avoid all nonessential travel following an unprecedented surge of the novel coronavirus this week.
Saturday marks the fifth straight day that daily cases have surpassed the 200 mark. The daily number of cases topped 300 for the first time this week, with many infections linked to the nightlife sector in Shinjuku and other areas.
The number of nationwide infections has been on the rise as well, with the cumulative tally topping 30,000 Saturday.
Osaka Prefecture reported 132 new infections Saturday, its second-highest figure of the pandemic, with the daily count topping 100 for a fourth-straight day.
But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday the situation is not dire enough to trigger another state of emergency. The capital, which logged a record 366 cases on Thursday, has accumulated an official total of 10,975 cases and at least 327 deaths since the pandemic began.
Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Friday that the government would publicly disclose the names of restaurants that don’t take proper infection prevention measures if an infection is confirmed at the establishments.
Other urban areas have also seen sharp rises in confirmed cases since a nationwide state of emergency was fully lifted in late May. Aichi Prefecture confirmed at least 77 new infections Saturday, reporting over 50 for a fifth straight day, Gov. Hideaki Omura said according to NHK. Hyogo Prefecture reported 24 new cases.
Chiba Prefecture reported 21 cases the same day, while Kanagawa Prefecture recorded 18.
Okinawa Prefecture recorded an all-time high of 14 new infections Saturday, while the U.S. military has informed the prefecture that 23 new cases were confirmed at U.S. military bases in Okinawa on Saturday.
That brings the total number of cases from U.S. military bases in the prefecture to 229, higher than the total of 186 infections among the general public in Okinawa, NHK reported.
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