Photo/Illutration Tokyo’s Shinjuku district where the Tokyo metropolitan government headquarters is located (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Health authorities in Tokyo on Aug. 15 reported a second straight day of more than 300 new COVID-19 infections.

The figure will likely remain high as the number of those taking tests to confirm if they are infected has remained at alarming levels this month, officials said.

The Tokyo metropolitan government said there were 385 new cases on Aug. 15.

It normally takes about three days to confirm and compile test results. An initial count suggested that about 5,200 tests were administered on Aug. 12.

On many weekdays in August, more than 5,000 tests were given.

Of the 385 new cases, about 53 percent were of patients between the ages of 20 and 40.

But there was also a growing number of middle-aged Tokyo residents who were infected as 55 were in their 40s, 48 in their 50s and 21 in their 60s.

In addition, there were 18 in their 70s, 17 teenagers, 12 in their 80s and nine children under the age of 10. One patient was over 90 years old.

“This year’s summer is a special one that is different from past summers," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at an Aug. 14 news conference. "While we move toward the second half of the Bon holiday season, I hope Tokyo residents will continue to refrain from travelling, returning to their family homes in other areas, going out for dinners and making distant outings.”

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