Photo/Illutration Visitors offer prayers at Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 4 to mark the first business day of the year. (AP Photo)

Fresh novel coronavirus cases in Tokyo soared to close to 400 on Jan. 5, while authorities in Osaka braced for more than 200 in what they said they suspect marks the start of a sixth wave of infections.

Tokyo’s tally of 390 cases is the first time for the daily count to exceed 300 since Sept. 26 last year, when 302 were reported.

The figure was up 314 from the same day a week ago, increasing roughly five-fold over the period, metropolitan government officials said.

It brought the daily average of new infections in the capital over the week through Jan. 5 to 135.6, or 302 percent of the figure for the preceding week.

Three patients, up one from the previous day, showed symptoms serious enough to warrant special breathing equipment.

Of the 390 cases, 153 patients were in their 20s, followed by 70 in their 30s, 55 in their 40s, 41 in their 50s and 19 in their 60s. Twenty-four patients were aged between 10 and 19.

The same day, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters that new COVID-19 cases looked set to top 200 in his prefecture.

“We have decided on a new hospitalization policy (to ask patients infected with the Omicron variant who have a low risk of becoming seriously ill to recuperate at accommodation facilities) to secure sufficient medical resources to deal with a future surge in cases,” Yoshimura said. “I think we have already entered the sixth wave of infections.”

No fatalities from COVID-19 were reported in either Tokyo or Osaka.

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