Photo/Illutration Staff wear face shields while checking applications for a college admission exam in Tokyo's Meguro Ward on Sept. 28. (Reina Kitamura)

Tokyo confirmed 78 new novel coronavirus infections on Sept. 28, the first time the tally has dipped below 100 since Sept. 23, when 59 cases were reported, according to the metropolitan government.

The number fell by nearly half from the 144 new cases reported in the capital the previous day, which marked the fourth straight day the count exceeded 100.

It normally takes about three days for the results of polymerase chain reaction tests to be confirmed and compiled by the Tokyo metropolitan government. 

Of the new infections confirmed on Sept. 28, 26 patients were in their 20s, 15 were in their 30s, 13 were in their 40s, and nine were in their 50s.

In addition, four were in their 60s, three were under the age of 20 and eight were in their 70s or older.

Twenty-six patients were classified as having severe symptoms that require the use of a ventilator or an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) device, which circulates blood through an artificial lung.

The number was down by three from the previous day.

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