Tokyo's daily COVID-19 case spike top 300 amid concerns over nationwide virus resurgence

Japan's capital Tokyo on Wednesday reported 317 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, surpassing the 300-mark for the first time since August 20 amid concerns over a coronavirus resurgence nationwide.

The latest figure for the capital of 14 million population also marked the second straight day that the daily spike of COVID-19 cases have topped 200. Tokyo's total tally currently stands at 33,377.

Tokyo has been the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic among Japan's 47 prefectures, and its number of infections showed a distinctive rise since the beginning of this month, according to officials.

The Tokyo metropolitan government said the average daily number of new cases in the city over the previous seven days has exceeded 200.

This marks the same pace of increase as was logged in late August when the virus's spread nationwide reached its peak.

"The government is dealing with the situation with maximum vigilance," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a coronavirus task force meeting on Tuesday.

His remarks and the meeting came on the heels of Suga the previous day vowing for an all-out effort to help the country's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido tackle a recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections and clusters.

Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki visited Suga at the prime minister's office and briefed the Japanese leader on the latest spike in COVID-19 infections in Hokkaido.

The spike believed to be related to cooler temperatures seeing more people staying indoors, sometimes in poorly ventilated rooms, which helps the virus to spread, experts said.

Nighttime entertainment establishments have also seen clusters of infections emerge, local officials in the northernmost prefecture have said.

Officials in Hokkaido on Wednesday, meanwhile, said new daily infections had increased by 191 to total 4,578 cases.

The figures over recent days have been hovering around the 200-mark causing officials to raise the pandemic alert level for Hokkaido to level three on its five-tier scale.

With the rise in infections, Hokkaido, a popular travel destination, could now see itself cut out of the government's "Go To Travel" subsidy campaign.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato has said that removing Hokkaido from the domestic travel campaign was a possibility and discussions in this direction were taking place.

Meanwhile, 803 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide on Wednesday, bringing Japan's cumulative total to 111,424, excluding those connected to a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier in the year.

The national death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic currently stands at 1,866, showed the latest data released on Wednesday.