TOKYO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japan confirmed 1,176 new COVID-19 cases nationwide on Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 52,603, as the resurgence continues during the Bon holiday season with people traveling to hometowns to visit relatives.
The daily figures remained high in the nation's large urban areas, with Osaka Prefecture reporting 177 new cases to a cumulative total of 6,355, while Tokyo's neighboring prefecture of Kanagawa saw daily cases jump by 123 to a total of 3,520.
The southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, a vacation hot-spot, raised its alert level to the highest on its four-stage scale meaning that "infections are becoming rampant."
The Okinawa prefectural government on Thursday reported 97 new cases, prompting the island's state of emergency, first declared on Aug. 1, to be extended until Aug. 29.
"The spread of the virus continues to be severe," Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki told a press briefing on the matter. Okinawa had 30.32 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending Aug. 5, the highest level in the country and almost double Tokyo's 17.41, official statistics showed.
The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday confirmed 206 new cases, marking the second straight day that new infections topped the 200-mark.
While the number of new infections remained below the daily record of 472 reported earlier this month, concerns have remained high about the virus' resurgence in the capital of 14 million since a state of emergency was lifted at the end of May.
The Tokyo metropolitan government said that among those newly testing positive, 107 were aged in their 20s and 30s accounting for roughly 52 percent of the total.
Tokyo's cumulative COVID-19 cases now stands at 16,680, the highest among Japan's 47 prefectures.
The Tokyo metropolitan government has reiterated its calls for residents to refrain from traveling outside the prefecture or returning home to visit relatives during the Bon holiday season, as well as refrain from dining out in groups, including small gatherings held in close proximity with others.
Establishments serving alcohol such as restaurants, bars and karaoke parlors have been requested to shorten their opening hours until the end of August and shut their doors at 10:00 p.m.
The metropolitan government has described the situation in the capital as "extremely severe," with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike saying that a Tokyo-specific state of emergency could be declared if the resurgence continues to worsen.
According to the latest figures released Thursday evening, the nation's death toll stands at 1,090. Enditem
