Tokyo records another 868 coronavirus infections on Jan. 29

TOKYO -- The Japanese capital recorded 868 coronavirus cases on Jan. 29, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced.

The new infections came after Tokyo reported 1,064 new cases on Jan. 28. The single-day high stands at 2,447 cases, recorded on Jan. 7.

Japan's capital has been battling a third wave of coronavirus infections following earlier surges in April and August last year. In the first week of January it averaged 1,230.4 cases per day. The figure jumped to a daily average of 1,611.1 cases in the second week, before declining slightly to 1,513 in the third week, and again to 987.4 in the fourth.

Tokyo has recorded 38,000-plus infections so far in January -- the most the capital has seen in a single month following the start of the pandemic in spring 2020. The capital posted close to 20,000 infections in December, for an average of about 621 new cases per day.

Tokyo has reported over 98,000 infections altogether, the most among Japan's 47 prefectures, with the overall death toll in the capital reaching 847 as of Jan. 28. As of the same day, there were 2,888 patients hospitalized in Tokyo with COVID-19, including 150 with severe symptoms.

(Mainichi)