Photo/Illutration The Tokyo metropolitan government building (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo on June 24 jumped to 55, the highest tally since the state of emergency was lifted for the entire country on May 25, sources said.

Nine of the new patients were infected in a cluster at a temporary employment company, the sources said. Seven others at the company had earlier tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Twelve of the June 24 total were confirmed positive in group testing conducted by Shinjuku Ward for restaurants and bars.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike earlier in the day indicated that some of the new patients were infected with the novel coronavirus at their workplaces.

“Cases of cluster infections within the workplace have caught our attention lately,” Koike said. “We are taking these cases as a lesson that workplaces can be a source of infection.”

The June 24 total was the first to top 50 since 57 new infections were reported in the capital on May 5. The number of newly confirmed cases in Tokyo had exceeded 20 for six consecutive days until June 23.

Koike noted that more people have gradually returned to their offices since the “stay-home week” ended.

“Restaurants and bars have taken thorough anti-virus measures, such as dividing spaces with partitions,” the governor said. “But it is hard for us to grasp how much effort has been made at ordinary companies.

“I hope companies think once again about what their offices should look in this new everyday life.”

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