Tokyo, Japan, Reports Over 500 New COVID-19 Cases for the First Time... Raises Alert to Highest Level

Record High for Two Consecutive Days... Governor Koike to Hold Press Conference

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] NHK reported that Tokyo Metropolis in Japan sounded the alarm on the 19th as more than 500 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed. This is the first time that daily COVID-19 cases in Tokyo have exceeded 500.

The number of new cases in Tokyo set a record high for the second consecutive day. The previous day saw 493 new cases, and on this day, the number surpassed that, exceeding 500, according to Tokyo Metropolis. The recent 7-day average of daily new cases in Tokyo nearly doubled from 169.3 on the 1st of this month to 335 on the 18th.

Tokyo immediately raised its COVID-19 alert level to the highest of four stages. This is the first time since September this year that the alert level has been upgraded to the highest stage. The Tokyo COVID-19 monitoring meeting, which includes infectious disease experts, began around 1 p.m.

Governor Yuriko Koike of Tokyo plans to hold a press conference in the evening to strongly urge thorough measures to suppress the risk of infection.

Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Japan reached 2,201 on the previous day, marking the first time daily new cases exceeded 2,000.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.