Tokyo's COVID-19 cases drop below 200 for 1st time in 5 days, concerns remain

The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 119 new COVID-19 infections in the capital on Monday with the number of daily cases dropping below the 200-mark for the first time in five days. The latest figure comes on the heels of 206 cases recorded in Tokyo the previous day, which marked a prolonged period of daily cases rising above 200, with a record 243 single-day number of COVID-19 infections confirmed on Friday.

With the metropolitan government saying the uptick in the week past was owing to an increase in testing, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said Monday the metropolitan government is also looking into a new cluster of infections detected at a theater in the capital.

The metropolitan government said that 30 people connected to a theater had tested positive for the virus in less than a week.

Those testing positive comprised sixteen actors, five staff and nine audience members.

They were infected at a theater in Shinjuku Ward between June 30 and July 5, according to the organizer Rise Communication Co., a Tokyo-based event, entertainment and media promotion company.

The metropolitan government had previously voiced concern about rising numbers of infections in downtown nighttime establishments in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro wards.

"It will affect how we proceed with virus measures, especially after the central government relaxed its guidelines Friday for holding large sporting and other events," Koike told a press briefing on the matter Monday, with reference to the new cluster in Shinjuku.

Koike has also spoken about the central government's plans to boost domestic tourism through a subsidy campaign planned to begin on July 22.

She suggested the move could lead to the virus spreading across prefectural lines, amid the metropolitan government's moves to encourage people to refrain from making unnecessary trips across prefectural borders, to curb the spread of the virus.

"It is like putting cooling and heating systems on at the same time. I'm not sure how we are supposed to deal with that," she said amid Tokyo's recent spike in cases and those in prefectures surrounding the capital.