TOKYO: A total of 22,747 people were confirmed as positive for the coronavirus in Japan on Saturday, while the nationwide number of severely ill COVID-19 patients increased by 60 from the previous day to 2,060, hitting a new record high for the 16th day in a row.

Across the country, 42 new fatalities were reported among infected people.

In Tokyo, the daily number of new infections came to 3,581, down by 1,493 from a week earlier, posting a week-on-week fall for the sixth straight day, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.

The neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama also saw their daily infection tallies fall from a week before, to 2,378, 1,630 and 1,608, respectively.

Meanwhile, daily infection figures rose to 2,641 in the western prefecture of Osaka, 1,891 in the central prefecture of Aichi and 1,050 in the western prefecture of Hyogo.

The eastern prefecture of Gunma logged 367 new infections, rewriting its daily record high.

Of Saturday’s infection total in Tokyo, 988 people were in their 20s, 701 in their 30s, 574 in their 40s and 433 in their 50s. Those under 20 came to 634, and those aged 65 or older totaled 156.

Meanwhile, 19 new coronavirus-linked deaths were reported in the Japanese capital. One of the dead was a man in his 20s.

The number of severely ill patients in Tokyo under the metropolitan government’s standards rose by three from the previous day to a record 297.

JIJI Press