The Japanese capital reported a single-day record of 4,166 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday amid the continuous surge of infection cases in the country, with an all-time high of 14,207 cases nationwide until 6:25 p.m. local time, local media reported Wednesday.
The total was more than the 3,709 cases a day earlier in Tokyo, and came with the Delta variant of the virus keeping to wreak havoc across the country.
The weekly average of new cases in Tokyo rose to 3,478.7 cases, compared with 1,954.7 a week earlier, while the number of severely ill patients under the metropolitan government's criteria increased by three from the previous day to 115. The capital also reported one death linked to the virus.
The surging cases in Tokyo come after the state of emergency in the capital and Okinawa Prefecture was extended to the end of August, and three prefectures neighboring the capital and western Osaka Prefecture were added into the state of emergency list on Monday.
Shigeru Omi, Japan's top medical adviser, also said it is likely that Tokyo will see 6,000 to 8,000 cases per day next week, and a worst-case scenario could see "a possibility of 10,000 people a day," local media reported.
"(The daily cases) won't suddenly drop now," Omi said.
Omi also told a parliamentary committee that expanding the state of emergency nationwide should be taken into discussion, and stronger measures to control an infection surge should be emphasized.
