TOKYO: While the daily count of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo topped 100 for the second straight day on Friday, the Japanese capital’s medical system is not under strain, as the number of severely ill patients remains low, economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on the day.

Nishimura told a press conference that the government finds no need immediately to declare a fresh state of emergency over the epidemic.

The minister said he will have a meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on the current situation on Saturday. He also revealed plans to hold talks soon with the governors of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures around Tokyo, where new infection numbers are also rising.

At the same press conference, Shigeru Omi, chairman of a government advisory committee, said it is necessary to take well-targeted strategic measures that strike a balance with social and economic activities.

Omi cited the challenge of sharing real-time infection data from around the country to detect infection clusters swiftly.

JIJI Press