Okinawa governor to extend state of emergency through Aug. 29

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said Thursday he will extend the prefecture's state of emergency for two weeks through Aug. 29 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, calling once again for its people to avoid nonessential travel.

The prefecture has declared a state of emergency from Aug. 1 through Aug. 15.

"We are still in a severe situation," Tamaki told a news conference. "We will try our best so that it will peak out in the middle of August."

Amid a rising number of daily new cases, Tamaki also said he upgraded the COVID-19 alert level in the prefecture to the highest of the four levels. On Thursday, Okinawa reported 97 new cases, up from 65 the day before.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 206 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, surpassing the 200 mark for the second straight day.

The cumulative tally in the capital now stands at 16,680. The death toll was 336 as of Wednesday.

According to the metropolitan government’s weekly monitoring data, the average number of daily infections was 312.7 between last Thursday and Wednesday. The data also showed that the routes of infection could not be determined for 200.9 cases. Over the period, 3,775 daily tests were conducted on average, with a 6.6 percent positive rate.

Thursday’s new cases are based on 1,698 tests conducted Monday. Testing numbers are significantly lower than the weekly average possibly because of the Bon holiday period.

As of Wednesday, 1,659 people were hospitalized and 21 were seriously ill. In addition, arrangements were being made to have another 961 people sent to hospitals or be treated at home or hotels. Tokyo has secured 2,400 beds, with 100 being set aside for those in serious condition.

• Osaka Prefecture reported 177 new cases, topping 100 for 10 days in a row.
• Aichi Prefecture reported 109 new cases, topping 100 for the first time since Monday.
• Fukuoka Prefecture reported 143 new cases, including 68 cases in the city of Fukuoka.