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Tokyo metropolitan government reported Wednesday 41 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily tally for the city since the outbreak began, bringing the total number to 212 in the Japanese capital.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters at a press conference that among the new cases, 11 are related to a hospital in Taito Ward where a nurse and a patient were confirmed infected on the previous day, five are people who recently returned from overseas. None of the 41 cases are considered severely ill.
Tokyo is facing an "important phase in preventing an explosive rise in the number of infections," she said, urging Tokyo residents to refrain from non-essential outings this weekend in an effort to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus.
She also appealed residents to work at home on weekdays and avoid going out at night as much as possible, while calling on people coming back from abroad to abide by the 14-day self-quarantine rule.
Koike said on Monday that like other major cities in the world Tokyo could go into lockdown if all steps fail to contain the spread of the virus. However, she said at the conference that now is not the time for a citywide lockdown.
Tokyo reported a record number of infections for three straight days through Wednesday, overtaking the country's northern main island of Hokkaido as the prefecture with the most infections. There were 16 new cases on Monday and 17 on Tuesday in Tokyo.
