TOKYO, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo reported a record 2,447 new daily COVID-19 infections on Thursday, as the Greater Tokyo area braces for a month-long state of emergency declaration to be imposed later in the day in a bid to curb the surging number of virus cases.
The latest number of infections in Tokyo far eclipses the previous record of 1,591 cases recorded the previous day in the capital of 14 million.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been gearing up to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and its three surrounding prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
COVID-19 cases in these metropolitan regions have been consistently rising since mid-November, with medical experts warning that the healthcare system could collapse if the virus continues to run rampant.
Government officials have said that the impending emergency declaration is expected to be kept in place until Feb. 7.
Japan on Wednesday, meanwhile, reported 6,004 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the first time new cases have topped the 6,000-mark and booking the highest number of daily infections on record since the outbreak of the pandemic here.
The latest surge in nationwide cases far surpasses the previous record of 4,916 new cases booked on Tuesday.
Under the state of emergency, residents in the areas covered will be encouraged to refrain from making unnecessary trips outdoors after 8:00 p.m. and restaurants and bars will be requested to stop serving alcohol by 7:00 p.m. and close their doors by 8:00 p.m.
Businesses, meanwhile, will be asked to have employees work from home or stagger shifts to reduce people working in offices by 70 percent.
Japan's central prefecture of Aichi saw its cases rise by 364 on Wednesday as its Governor Hideaki Omura told a press conference that "if this trend continues for a few days" he might ask the central government to expand the virus emergency to cover his prefecture.
A state of emergency was first declared in Tokyo and six other prefectures on April 7 last year. It was later expanded to cover the whole country before being lifted in late May. Enditem
