Tokyo Virus Cases on Uptrend as Double-Digit Rise Continues

(Bloomberg) --

Another 28 new coronavirus infections were reported in Tokyo on Thursday, the fourth day in a row the capital saw cases rise by double digits.

That would bring the total to 128 over the past week, the biggest seven-day increase since May 15, just over a week before the state of emergency was lifted nationwide. Despite new cases in other parts of the country having slowed dramatically, the uptick in the country's dense capital remains a concern. Tokyo on Wednesday accounted for about half of the 26 new cases reported in the country of 126.5 million people. Osaka prefecture, with a population of about 8 million, reported no new cases.

A jump in infections in Tokyo on Tuesday, when 34 cases were found, led the local government to issue its own alert to residents, urging them to take caution against the virus. Having just lifted many of its restrictions on businesses following the end of the state of emergency last week, the city could begin to reimpose some of them if the seven-day average number of cases were to reach 50. That's one of the city's three monitoring criteria, along with the percentage of infections that can't be traced, and the rate of increase on a weekly basis.

The Jiji report cited an unidentified government official as saying that if a large second wave of the pandemic hits, it would be in the capital. With new cases in the city turning to an uptrend, the report said the central government could designate the capital as an area “under advisory for expanding infections,” the second on a three-point risk assessment scale. Should the total cases in the past seven days reach a threshold of 2.5 people per 100,000, the government could initiate the designation and ask for people to stay home, Jiji said. The figure as of Thursday stands at about 0.9.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Tuesday the city wouldn't immediately roll back to an earlier stage of its re-opening plan, but has called on companies to continue to promote remote work, noting the resurgence of packed environments such as rush hour trains in the city. She also appealed to residents to avoid crowded spaces as much as possible and urged people to avoid the city's crowded nightlife districts.