Photo/Illutration A train station passageway is packed with commuters wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus during rush hour in Tokyo on Nov. 20. (AP Photo)

New COVID-19 cases topped 500 in Tokyo again on Nov. 20, hitting 522, metropolitan government officials said, a day after the capital reported 534.

In Hokkaido, authorities reported a record 304 new cases, surpassing 300 daily cases for the first time, with 191 in Sapporo, the capital of the main northern island.

Osaka also set a record with 370 new cases, following the 338 recorded the previous day. 

Hokkaido has seen more than 200 fresh cases for three straight days and logged at least 100 for 16 straight days.

In Tokyo, 122 of the new cases were patients in their 20s, while 92 were in their 50s, 89 in their 30s and 84 in their 40s. Eighty of the patients were 65 or older.

Thirty-seven of the new 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, down one from the previous day.

Tokyo raised its alert for the novel coronavirus pandemic to the highest level 4 on Nov. 19.

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