Tokyo reports 317 new COVID-19 cases as week-on-week rise continues

Tokyo confirmed 317 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, nearly 100 more than the 236 reported a week before, as a week-on-week rise in the number of infections continues in the capital.

The figure came as concern grows over a recent jump in infections in Tokyo and after a coronavirus state of emergency was lifted there just over a week ago. Through Saturday, the capital had seen four straight days of 100-plus, week-on-week rises in case numbers. Tokyo reported 386 new cases on Sunday, a slight increase from the 376 reported a week prior.

The capital’s daily infection tally averaged 489 in the week to Monday, compared with 391.9 the previous week, while the number of people severely ill with the coronavirus in Tokyo under the metropolitan government’s standards rose by four from a day earlier to 41. The capital also reported four deaths linked to the virus.

Elsewhere Monday, Okinawa Prefecture, the only prefecture still under a state of emergency, tallied 25 cases and two deaths, while Hokkaido reported 27 cases and four deaths. Hyogo Prefecture reported four cases as infections continue to decrease following a deadly surge of cases there that peaked in late April and early May.

Chiba Prefecture, meanwhile, saw 121 cases, rising above 100 for the sixth straight day.

Earlier, the cumulative number of cases in Japan, including among cruise ship passengers and crew members, hit 796,330 as of 10 a.m. Monday, up by 10,380 from the week-before level, while deaths among infected people increased by 249 to 14,688.

The weekly growth in new infection cases was up by about 300 from the preceding week, with the pace of increase rising for the first time in six weeks in a possible sign of a resurgence of the virus. By prefecture, the cumulative infection count was the largest in Tokyo, at 172,427, followed by Osaka, at 103,134, Kanagawa, at 66,810, and Aichi, at 50,971.

On Sunday, the daily number of cases nationwide totaled 1,283, with 10 new fatalities, while the number of severely ill patients fell by 10 from Saturday to 567.