Photo/Illutration Skyscrapers in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, including the Tokyo metropolitan government building (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo metropolitan government officials on April 19 reported 5,583 new COVID-19 cases, down 1,339 from the previous Tuesday.

It marked the eighth consecutive day that cases dropped from the same day of the previous week in the capital.

The seven-day average of new cases in Tokyo over the week through April 19 stood at 6377.1, or 84 percent of the average for the preceding week.

The metropolitan government also reported four deaths of COVID-19 patients. They were one male in his 40s, two males in their 80s and one centenarian woman.

Of the new cases, people in their 30s and those aged 9 or younger formed the largest age groups at 1,041, respectively. They were followed by 947 patients in their 20s, 853 in their 40s, 754 aged between 10 and 19, and 471 in their 50s. Additionally, 340 people aged 65 or older tested positive.

The occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo was 25.3 percent, while 5.5 percent of hospital beds for severely ill patients were filled, officials said.

The metropolitan government said it would consider asking the central government to issue another state of emergency for Tokyo if the occupancy rate of beds for seriously ill patients hits between 30 and 40 percent.

The Tokyo metropolitan government defines seriously ill patients as those requiring ventilators or ECMO lung bypass machines.

Their number remained at 15, the same as the previous day.

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