TOKYO (JAPAN) – Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said in a news conference on Wednesday that the pandemic outbreak is severe and could explode in the coming days. This comes as the nation begins its New Year’s holiday season during which millions travel to different parts of the country.
There were as many as 944 new coronavirus infections in the capital on Wednesday, just under the record 949 marked on Saturday. As per health experts, unless the pandemic is checked, the city could witness as many as 1,000 new cases daily.
“Please emphasise life over fun,” Koike said, urging people to remain at home as much as possible during the holiday.
She said the capital was at a critical phase with cold weather predictions and the highly contagious mutant various of the virus discovered in the country.
“The situation is extremely severe, we are facing up to a huge wave of virus cases we have not seen before,” she added.
“The number of cases could explode at any time. Any one of us could become infected at any time … If we do not stamp this out now, we will be facing a much worse situation.”
