Photo/Illutration Seiko Hashimoto, right, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, and first torch runner Norio Sasaki, both wearing masks, attend a news conference in Tokyo on March 24, a day before the torch relay begins in Fukushima Prefecture. (AP Photo)

Tokyo confirmed 394 new cases of novel coronavirus infections on March 25, according to metropolitan government officials.

The daily case count is up 71 from a week earlier, marking the sixth day in a row the figure topped the week-earlier level.

The daily average for the week through March 25 totaled 319.9 cases, or 107.7 percent of the average for the preceding week.

The metropolitan government has set a goal of keeping the average at 70 percent of the previous week or lower.

Of the 394 new patients in Tokyo, 90 are in their 20s, the largest age group, followed by 57 in their 40s and 55 in their 50s.

There are 99 new patients aged 65 or older.

The number of serious cases stood at 41, down one from the previous day.

Tokyo defines serious cases as those requiring a ventilator or an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) device, which circulates blood through an artificial lung.

The state of emergency was lifted on March 22 for the capital and three surrounding prefectures.

The governors of Tokyo and Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures on March 24 decided to extend a request for restaurants to close early at 9 p.m. until April 21 to prevent a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections.

The request was originally scheduled to end March 31.

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