Photo/Illutration The Tokyo metropolitan government building, right, where officials are bracing for surges in COVID-19 cases in winter in the capital. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo reported 255 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Nov. 15, with the count falling below 300 for the first time in five days in the capital, according to metropolitan health officials.

In Hokkaido, where COVID-19 cases have also spiked, 209 were confirmed on Nov. 15, according to the Hokkaido and Sapporo governments. The number of new cases in Hokkaido dipped from 230 reported on Nov. 14, but surpassed the 200 mark for the fourth day in a row.

Sapporo accounted for 148 of the new cases in Hokkaido on Nov. 15. 

In Osaka, the prefectural government announced 266 new cases on Nov. 15. The figure is the second highest following 285 reported on Nov. 14 and above the 200 mark for the sixth straight day. 

In Tokyo, by age, patients in their 20s formed the largest group of new cases, with 68, followed by 47 in their 30s and 43 in their 50s.

Forty-two patients were in their 40s, while 25 were aged 65 or older.

Serious cases in Tokyo declined by three from the previous day to 38 on Nov. 15. Serious cases refer to patients on ventilators or on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) lung bypass machine, according to the metropolitan government.

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