Tokyo's COVID-19 cases hit fresh 2-month high, surpass 100-mark for 2nd straight day

The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 124 new COVID-19 infections on Friday in the capital, marking the highest daily increase in two months and the second straight day the figure has topped 100.

The latest figure, the highest since May 2, follows 107 new cases confirmed a day earlier and also marks the highest number of new daily infections since the state of emergency declared over the pandemic was officially lifted on May 25.

The latest daily tally of infections is also the eighth straight day that COVID-19 cases have topped 50, with Friday's figure a sharp rise from the previous day, as well as from Wednesday's 67 confirmed cases and 54 new daily infections recorded on Tuesday in the city of 14 million.

Of Friday's 124 new cases, 97 of those infected are aged in their twenties and thirties, accounting for around 78 percent of the total, with infection routes unknown in 40 of the new cases, the Tokyo metropolitan government said.

With daily cases rising consistently, particularly in Tokyo's downtown nighttime entertainment spots, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike a day earlier asked people to refrain from visiting the virus-hit downtown districts.

The Tokyo governor also warned that the recent uptrend in young people being infected by the virus was of concern due to the possibility of the infections being passed on to more vulnerable elderly people.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that the spread of the virus will accelerate if more elderly people get infected," Koike said.

As of the latest figures Friday, the cumulative total of COVID-19 infections in Tokyo now stands at 6,523, the highest among all 47 prefectures in Japan and accounting for roughly one-third of all cases nationwide.