Jun 30 (NHK) - Tokyo officials say 58 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Monday. The number of infections has been on the rise in recent days, but the government says there's no need to declare another state of emergency.
The latest figure is slightly smaller than Sunday when the daily tally was the highest since the nationwide state of emergency was fully lifted last month.
Officials say about 40 percent of people who tested positive in Tokyo over the past week have either worked at, or visited nightclubs.
A group infection was also confirmed at a nightclub in a neighboring prefecture.
Health officials are also singling out small karaoke bars as a source of infection in the city of Otaru located in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
36 people have tested positive and one person has died. Among them are retirees who often visit the facilities during the day.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary says there's no immediate plan to declare another state of emergency or ask people to stop travelling between prefectures.
Suga Yoshihide said, "After the declaration was lifted, a certain number of new infections have been confirmed, mainly in Tokyo. However, the results include those who were in close contact with infected people, regardless of whether they have symptoms themselves."
One infectious disease expert says now is the time to prepare for another possible surge in infections.
Professor, Hamada Atsuo at Tokyo Medical University says, " If the virus starts to spread rapidly, it will be difficult to deal with a second wave of infections. We should do all we can to avoid that."
Hamada is calling on local governments to proceed cautiously, noting that restrictions on overseas travel is expected to ease in the coming months.
