TOKYO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said Thursday that 47 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in Tokyo, marking a new record in daily infections in the capital, bringing the total number of people infected in Japan to 1,373 as of 6:30 p.m. local time here.
The death toll in Japan from the virus currently stands at a total of 56 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 1,373 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, the majority are still in Japan's capital city of Tokyo, which has confirmed 259 cases.
On Wednesday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike requested that people in Tokyo stay at home this weekend, following 41 new cases of the virus recorded in the capital the day before, which was more than double its previous daily record of 17.
Prior to that, 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 recently, also calling on those in Tokyo to work at home and as much as possible to avoid going out in the evenings.
Concerns have also spread to Tokyo's surrounding prefectures, with local government's requesting people not to travel to the capital over this weekend, which coincides with the peak of cherry blossom viewing this season and "hanami" parties being held across the region.
Meanwhile, according to the latest data Thursday evening, Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has 168 COVID-19 cases, Aichi Prefecture has 154, while Osaka Prefecture has confirmed 149 COVID-19 infections, health ministry and local authorities said.
The health ministry also said there are currently a total of 65 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 960 people had been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved.
