Japan confirmed about 3,270 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, another daily record, with the nation's death toll marking a single-day high of 56, as Tokyo and several other areas continued to see an unprecedented spike in infections.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the government's coronavirus response, told reporters the number of spectators allowed at sporting and other large events at Tokyo venues with a capacity of more than 10,000 will be lowered to 5,000 until Jan. 11.
Tokyo reported 748 new cases of the novel coronavirus, its second-highest daily increase on record and the most infections logged for a Wednesday.
Tokyo has set new records for each day of the week over the past nine consecutive days, bringing its cumulative total to 53,130.
Its tally of new infections in December has already surpassed 12,000, an all-time high for any month. The previous high of 9,857 cases was logged in November.
The nationwide tally, which topped 200,000 on Monday, now stands at around 207,600. The overall death toll surpassed 3,000 on Tuesday.
Last Thursday, when the capital saw a record 822 daily cases, the Tokyo metropolitan government raised its alert regarding the strain on the medical system to the highest of four levels. It is the first time the most severe level has been reached since the outbreak of the virus.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has urged people to take increased anti-virus measures during the year-end and New Year holiday period, including refraining from unnecessary outings.
Related coverage:
Coronavirus pandemic tops Japan's domestic news stories of 2020
Japan to tighten entry from Britain over new coronavirus strain
Japan's coronavirus death toll tops 3,000
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has urged people to take increased anti-virus measures during the year-end and New Year holiday period, including refraining from unnecessary outings.
