Tokyo reported 2,447 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, fewer than the number a week earlier, while the capital and other hard-hit areas continued to grapple with its largest wave of infections yet.
Monday’s figure was down from 2,962 cases reported on Aug. 16.
Daily new infection cases averaged 4,659.3 for the week through Monday, compared to 4,275 cases in the previous week.
The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients, counted under the metropolitan government’s criteria, rose one from the previous day to 272.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Japan rose a record 157,516 from a week before to 1,306,198.
The size of increase was far larger than the preceding week’s 115,668.
In the latest week, Japan’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 226 to 15,651, with the weekly growth far outpacing the prior week’s 128.
By prefecture, Tokyo had the largest number of cumulative COVID-19 cases, at 312,262, up by 33,130 from a week earlier.
Osaka came second, at 147,369, up by 14,922, followed by Kanagawa, at 127,645, up by 17,069, Saitama, at 88,390, up by 11,949, and Chiba, at 74,744, up by 10,799.
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