TOKYO: The daily number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases across Japan came to 1,793 on Monday, standing below 2,000 for the first time since April 5.

The number of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms rose by two from Sunday to 1,349. New COVID-19 fatalities totaled 80.

New infection cases in Tokyo came to 260, falling below 300 for the first time since April 5.

The western Japan prefecture of Osaka had 98 cases, the first figure below 100 since March 22.

Hyogo Prefecture, which neighbors Osaka, confirmed 29 cases. Its daily count fell below 30 for the first time in about two months.

By prefecture, the daily count was highest at 279 in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan. Its new COVID-19 fatalities hit a record high of 19.

Tokyo’s daily infection tally averaged 547.1 for the last week, down 14.3 pct from the preceding week. The number of severe cases under the Tokyo metropolitan government’s standards decreased by two from the previous day to 75.

Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, said that what seems to be an Indian variant case was found in a cluster of infections among staff of an accommodation facility for coronavirus carriers with mild or no symptoms.

The prefectural government suspects that the cluster started from community-acquired infection. At the facility in Atsugi, nine workers have tested positive so far, but none of them are believed to have caught the virus from a facility user.

JIJI Press