TOKYO: A total of 1,214 new cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported across Japan on Saturday, with the daily total standing below 1,500 for the ninth consecutive day.

Forty-one deaths were confirmed among infected people.

The number of severely ill patients fell by 17 from the previous day to 440.

In Tokyo, new infection cases totaled 337, topping 300 for the second straight day. The figure rose by 10 from a week before.

Of the Japanese capital’s total, people in their 20s made up the largest age group, at 77, followed by 63 in their 30s and 54 in their 40s, according to the metropolitan government. Those aged 65 or older accounted for 56.

The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients, under Tokyo’s criteria, fell by two from the previous day to 68.

In Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, no new infection case was confirmed for the first time since Nov. 3 last year.

JIJI Press