Tokyo confirmed 1,663 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, up by about 200 from a week before.

The seven-day average of new cases came to 1,420.6, compared to 1,205.1 a week earlier.

The number of severe cases under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government criteria remained unchanged from Wednesday at four, while four deaths linked to the virus were reported on Thursday.

Japan confirmed 13,094 new cases nationwide on Wednesday, increasing by about 1,000 from a week before.

Twenty-three deaths linked to COVID-19 were newly reported across the country, while the number of severe cases fell by one from Tuesday to 58.