Tokyo reports over 1,300 daily COVID cases, topping 1,000 for 1st time

The tally eclipsed the previous record of 949 cases logged last Saturday, as the Japanese capital continues to see a rapid increase in COVID-19 infections.

The number of infections in Tokyo in December has now exceeded 19,200, nearly double the cases confirmed in November and reflecting the rapid pace of resurgence in the city.

Gov. Yuriko Koike told reporters that holiday shopping is apparently leading to bigger crowds, repeating her plea for residents to stay home during the holidays.

Health care experts at the Tokyo metropolitan government's pandemic response meeting on Wednesday warned that the capital could run out of hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients if the recent pace of infections continued.

The city has been able to secure 3,500 beds for coronavirus patients so far, short of its 4,000 target.

It comes after several people in Japan were confirmed to have been infected by new variants of the COVID-19 virus, first detected in Britain and South Africa.

The discovery of the new strains, said to be more transmissible than the original virus, spurred the government to stop issuing new visas and curb most entries into Japan.

In mid-December, Tokyo raised its alert regarding the strain on its medical system to the highest of four levels, the first time the capital has done so since the virus outbreak.

With the measure, the metropolitan government requested that restaurants and bars in the capital shorten their operating hours by closing at 10 p.m.