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Tokyo (AP/Yonhap News)

Tokyo is facing growing fears of a COVID-19 resurgence as the Japanese capital experiences its highest daily numbers of new confirmed cases in nearly a month.

The Tokyo Metropolis recorded 619 new confirmed cases on June 23, the NHK network reported. It’s the highest number since the 684 posted on May 27.

Since the state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo, the number of new daily confirmed cases has risen steadily, reaching 236 on June 21 and 435 on June 22 before topping 600 on June 23.

The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported Thursday that experts advising the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare had met the day before to express their concerns about a resurgence, noting that the new daily caseload of over 600 patients in Tokyo represented a “rising trend” with the “potential to increase rapidly.”

Tokyo is currently under “focused widespread prevention measures” more or less equivalent to a state of emergency, but the continued rise in the floating population has raised the risk of the virus spreading. In March, another state of emergency was declared just a month after the previous one had been lifted as the number of confirmed cases spiked.

Further exacerbating worries is the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus originating in India.

Tokyo recorded Tuesday its highest number of Delta variant confirmed cases yet at 23, with another 16 diagnosed on June 23. To date, a total of 142 people have tested positive for the Delta variant in Tokyo.

According to a report Thursday by the Japanese private news network ANN, a simulation conducted by the research team of Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Nishiura projected that the Delta variant would account for 68.9% of all patients infected by the COVID-19 virus by the time the Tokyo Olympics open on July 23.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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