Tokyo reported 107 new cases of coronavirus or COVID-19 infections on Thursday, the highest daily increase in two months, but the chief cabinet secretary of Japan mentioned that there was no requirement for reintroducing a state of emergency.
The Japanese capital, which has around 14 million people, had initially sought to hold the new daily cases at lesser than 20 after the government lifted the state of emergency on May 25, only to witness its tally consistently exceeding 50 more the past week.
Tokyo Confirms 107 New COVID-19 Cases
Tokyo's daily count last rose above 100 on May 2. On Wednesday, it confirmed 67 new cases. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said about 70 percent of cases on Thursday were among people in their 20s and 30s. "It's really unpleasant that it is increasing somewhat. I'd like to ask all Tokyo residents and everyone at businesses for their cooperation to prevent that," she said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters he didn't think there was a need for a fresh state of emergency.
"We'll continue to pay attention to the infection situation in the area with a sense of urgency, and work to both prevent spreading of infection and support economic activity," he said. Officials have also said the medical system can handle existing infections and that increased testing partly explains the rise in confirmed cases.
Despite more cases in Tokyo, Japan, with about 19,000 cases and 976 deaths, has reported a lower overall rate of infection than many countries. More than 10.7 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and over 515,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally. This week, Tokyo said it would move away from numerical targets in favor of more reliance on expert advice to rein in the virus and avert more economic damage.
(With agency inputs)
