People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus enjoy the field of cosmos flowers at the Hamarikyu Gardens in Tokyo, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

       TOKYO -- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced 253 new coronavirus infections in the Japanese capital on Sept. 21, the sixth day in a row under 1,000 cases.

       Tokyo reported 302 new positive cases on Sept. 20, which was also the date of the Respect-for-the-Aged Day public holiday this year. It was the first time in three months for the daily figure to fall below 300. Reported infections are typically low on days following weekends and public holidays due to low testing numbers on the preceding date. The capital remains under a fourth state of emergency as it battles a fifth wave of coronavirus cases.

       Tokyo saw an average of 2,231 new cases per day in the first week of September. The figure dropped to 1,243.7 cases in the second week. The capital recorded a total of 125,606 coronavirus infections in August, or an average of 4,051.8 cases per day, up from the average of 1,420.5 cases in July, when it recorded 44,034 total infections.

       By Sept. 20, a total of 2,801 people had died of COVID-19 in Tokyo since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020.

       Tokyo has recorded 372,545 infections to date, the most of any of Japan's 47 prefectures. As of Sept. 20, there were 2,406 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Tokyo, 169 with severe symptoms.

       (Mainichi)

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