COVID-19 infections in Japan rise to 1,313, Tokyo residents told to stay home this weekend

Japan's health ministry and local governments said on Thursday that six new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in Gifu, Hiroshima and Okinawa prefectures, bringing the total number of people infected in Japan to 1,313 as of 11am local time.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 55 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

Of the 1,313 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, the majority are still in Japan's capital city of Tokyo, which has confirmed 212 cases.

A day earlier, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike requested that people in Tokyo stay at home this weekend due to a spike in the number of infections recorded in the capital recently.

There were 41 new cases recorded the day before in the capital, which was more than double its previous daily record of 17.

On Tuesday, Tokyo overtook Hokkaido as the prefecture with the most cases of COVID-19 infections in the country.

"Tokyo is facing an important phase in preventing an explosive rise in the number of infections," Koike told a press conference on the matter, also calling on those in Tokyo to work at home and as much as possible to avoid going out in the evenings.

Meanwhile, according to the latest data, Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has 167 COVID-19 cases, Aichi Prefecture has 154 cases, while Osaka Prefecture has confirmed 149 COVID-19 infections, health ministry and local authorities said Tuesday.

The health ministry also said there are currently a total of 66 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.

The ministry added that a total of 907 people have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved.