Photo/Illutration The five-ring Olympic logo and Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Jan. 4 (Hikaru Uchida)

Tokyo, marking its second day back to work for most people after the New Year break, confirmed 1,278 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Jan. 5, second only to the 1,337 reported on Dec. 31.

The nationwide tally topped 4,800 as of 6 p.m., breaking the previous record of 4,520 cases reported on Dec. 31.

A record 44 new cases were logged in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 5 with infection routes of 17 of the cases unknown, according to prefectural and city government officials.

The number of patients listed in serious condition in the capital rose by three from the previous day to a record 111 on Jan. 5, metropolitan government officials said.

Tokyo defines serious cases as those requiring ventilators or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as an ECMO lung bypass machine.

Of the 1,278 cases in Tokyo, 356 patients are in their 20s, followed by 256 in their 30s, 205 in their 40s and 163 in their 50s. There were 158 patients aged 65 or older.

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