Tokyo, Dec. 17, (dpa/GNA) – Tokyo confirmed a record 822 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, marking the highest daily increase for the second straight day, as the Olympic host city has continued to fail to curb the spread of the virus.
The latest figure was significantly higher than the previous daily record of 678 on Wednesday.
Japan has experienced a resurgence of new coronavirus cases since mid-November, with government officials and experts calling on the public to take precautions against infections.
Recent spikes prompted Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government on Monday to suspend its travel subsidy program from December 28 to January 11.
Suga, however, apologized late Wednesday after coming under fire for attending two gatherings, including a dinner at an upscale steak restaurant, earlier this week.
“They’re eating expensive steak and having a blast while telling the public to exercise self-restraint,” Jun Azumi, a member of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters.
Japan has so far avoided a virus outbreak on the scale seen in Europe and the United States, with a total of about 187,000 known infections and more than 2,700 Covid-19-related deaths.
GNA