TOKYO, July 23 (NNN-NHK) – Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike, urged residents of the capital, to refrain from going out unnecessarily, during the upcoming four-day weekend, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, and as the nationwide daily tally hit a new record.
“We have to stop the spread of infection, no matter what. If you are going out, I ask citizens to take thorough measures to prevent infection,” Koike told a press conference on the matter.
“Moreover, I want citizens to refrain from going out as much as possible, during the four-day weekend starting today. We need to keep our guard up to be ready for a second wave of infections,” Koike added.
Koike’s remarks came, as the capital of 14 million, reported 238 new cases on Wednesday, with the city’s cumulative total now reaching 10,054 infections.
The latest figure marks the second day COVID-19 infections surpassed 200, with the number of infections remaining in triple digits every day in July except for two.
Nationwide, new cases surged by a record 747 on Wednesday, bringing Japan’s cumulative total to 27,222 infections, not including those related to a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo in Feb.
The number eclipsed the previous record set on Apr 11, when 720 new daily cases were recorded nationwide.
The national death toll now stands at 1,002, according to latest figures.
Tokyo, the hardest-hit of all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, has been grappling to deal with a resurgence of cases, since a state of emergency over the virus was fully lifted on May 25.
The city’s record hit 293 cases last Friday, the metropolitan government said, having previously raised its pandemic alert to the highest, on its four-tier scale, stating that “infections are spreading.”
On Wednesday, Osaka Prefecture, Japan’s second hardest hit region by the virus, reported a record number of new daily COVID-19 cases at 121, according to Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura.
The prefecture’s cumulative total has now risen to 2,662 cases.
Concerns have also been voiced about Tokyo’s surrounding prefectures seeing cases spike commensurate with the capital’s uptrend.
Kanagawa Prefecture on Wednesday reported 68 new cases, bringing its cumulative total to 2,105 infections, while cases in Saitama Prefecture, also close to Tokyo, increased by 62 to total 1,888 cases.
Chiba Prefecture, meanwhile, saw total cases rise to 1,364, following 40 new cases being reported Wednesday, the latest official figures showed.– NNN-NHK
