TOKYO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said that 2,183 people had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in Japan as of 8:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, with 78 new cases and seven deaths recorded in Tokyo, adding to pressure on the government to take further measures to curb the domestic spread of the virus.
The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 77 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 2,183 confirmed COVID-19 infections in Japan, the majority are still in Japan's capital city of Tokyo, which has now confirmed 521 cases.
On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike held talks during which Koike urged Abe to decide whether to declare a state of emergency to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
She told a press briefing after the talks that Tokyo is on the brink and, as such, the central government needs to make up its mind about the declaration and issuing a potential lockdown.
On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga "categorically denied" a rumor swirling here that the government will declare a state of emergency on Wednesday and implement a lockdown the following day, but the request to ask residents in Tokyo to continue working from home and refrain from going out in the evenings is expected to remain in place until at least April 12.
Koike had previously requested a "soft" lockdown for the capital, asking that people in Tokyo stay at home over the weekend due to the number of infections recorded in the capital spiking recently.
She has also requested that Tokyo residents avoid going out in the evenings.
Tokyo's surrounding prefectures had also requested their residents not to visit Tokyo over the weekend and along with other prefectures have also requested their residents to work from home and refrain from going outside in the evenings.
Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday requested people to avoid nightclubs and other night spots as a precaution amid the pandemic, a request similar to Koike's made a day earlier for the capital.
Yoshimura told reporters that the virus could spread in night spots that operate from night until early morning with customers in close quarters for relatively long periods of time.
He said the situation, if left unchecked, could lead to an explosive spread of cases of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, according to the latest data Tuesday evening, Osaka recorded 244 COVID-19 cases, Hokkaido Prefecture 176 cases, while Aichi Prefecture has confirmed 175 COVID-19 infections, health ministry and local authorities said.
