Tokyo tops 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, most since late January

Tokyo reported 1,149 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, topping the psychological 1,000-case barrier for the first time since late January as the capital continues to see a surge in daily infections.

The figure, which comes just days after Tokyo was placed under its fourth COVID-19 state of emergency and just over a week before the July 23 start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, topped the 920 cases reported a week ago and is the most since it saw 1,184 it saw on Jan. 22.

It came as new infections in Tokyo averaged 823.3 per day in the week leading up to Wednesday, compared with 631.7 the previous week and as the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients under the metropolitan government’s criteria fell to 54 from 58 a day earlier. The capital also reported four deaths linked to the virus.

The emergency, which went into effect Monday and is set to last until Aug. 22 — a period that will cover the duration of the Tokyo Games — with the government aiming to curb the movements of people during the global sports event, as well as the summer vacation period including Japan’s Bon holiday in mid-August.

Despite the emergency, however, pedestrian traffic in busy areas of the capital did not dramatically decrease from the week before, information based on smartphone location data found.

Outside the capital region, Okinawa Prefecture, which saw its state of emergency extended, logged 83 new cases and five deaths linked to the virus, while hard-hit Hokkaido reported 75 new infections.

On Tuesday, 2,386 people tested positive for the coronavirus nationwide, while new COVID-19 fatalities stood at 18 and the number of severely ill patients fell by eight to 424.