Photo/Illutration Attendees at a ceremony to remember the war dead in Tokyo on Aug. 15 are seated 1 meter apart to maintain social distancing because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Pool)

Serious cases of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilator and other special breathing apparatus rose to 251 in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the sixth straight day of setting a record since the pandemic began last year.

The number of newly confirmed infections came to 4,295 in the capital that day, up 229 from a week ago, metropolitan health officials said.

Tokyo defines only patients on ventilators or ECMO heart-lung bypass machines as serious cases, different from other prefectures that count those in ICUs as well.

Of the 4,295 confirmed new cases, patients in their 20s accounted for 1,320. They were followed by 877 patients in their 30s, 706 in their 40s and 505 in their 50s. Patients aged 65 or older totaled 150.

The seven-day average of new cases for the week through Aug. 15 was 4,263.9, an increase of 5.6 percent from the figure for the preceding week.

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