The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced over 350 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed on 30 July, the highest daily number in the Japanese capital.
Japan is bracing for a surge in the number of coronavirus infections after new daily cases exceeded 1,000 for the first time, a week after the start of a national travel campaign to revive the tourism industry.
The country had 1,264 new cases on Wednesday, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK, surpassing the previous record of 981, with infections spreading rapidly not only in Tokyo, but also in other regions including remote islands.
Northern Japan’s Iwate prefecture, which had been the last-remaining prefecture free from coronavirus infection, had its first cases on Wednesday, while the southern island of Okinawa had 44 infections, hitting a record for the third day in a row.
