Tokyo reports 2,447 new coronavirus cases on Jan. 7, 2nd straight daily record high

TOKYO -- A record-high number of new coronavirus cases was recorded in Japan's capital for the second day in a row on Jan. 7, hitting 2,447 infections, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said.

The daily tally broke Tokyo's previous record of 1,591 cases set just the day before. Japan's capital is battling a third wave of coronavirus infections after earlier surges in April and August last year.

Tokyo saw nearly 20,000 infections in December, the highest since the pandemic started earlier in 2020, with a daily average of 621 new cases.

The previous monthly record was 9,857 cases, set in November 2020, when new infections averaged 328.6 per day. During the second wave of infections in August, there were 8,126 cases in the capital, or about 262 per day on average.

Tokyo has reported over 67,000 infections altogether, the most among Japan's 47 prefectures, with the overall death toll in the capital reaching 656 as of Jan. 6. Also, as of the same day, there were 2,977 patients hospitalized in Tokyo with COVID-19, including 113 with severe symptoms.