TOKYO: Japan’s daily tally of new coronavirus cases came to 2,019 on Friday, bouncing back above 2,000 for the first time since Feb. 6, amid fears of another wave of infections after the recent state of emergency over the pandemic ended in the country earlier this month.

The western prefecture of Osaka logged 300 new cases, the highest figure since Jan. 30, before the prefecture exited the state of emergency in late February.

The northeastern prefecture of Miyagi confirmed 152 new cases, its third highest figure on record, marking the fourth successive day with more than 100 new cases.

Across the country, the number of infected people with severe symptoms edged down by two from the previous day to 323, according to the health ministry.

The total number of fatalities among infected people rose by 33 to 9,017, with 15 new deaths reported in Tokyo and five in the nearby prefecture of Saitama.

In Tokyo, 376 people were newly found positive for the coronavirus, including 88 in their 20s, 68 in their 40s, 51 in their 30s, 43 in their 50s and 38 in their 70s. Those aged 65 or over accounted for 83.

Tokyo’s daily coronavirus tally topped 300 for the fourth straight day. In the week through the day, the daily tally averaged 330.3, up 11.2 pct from the preceding week’s 297.

The number of severely ill people with the coronavirus under the Tokyo metropolitan government’s criteria increased by four from the previous day to 45.

JIJI Press