Record of over 47,000 cases nationwide

A record daily nationwide tally of over 47,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus was set Friday, according to data compiled by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The record has been broken for four days in a row.

Tokyo logged 9,699 new cases, breaking the daily record high for the third day in a row, the metropolitan government said.

The daily tally in the capital was up by 1,061 from the 8,638 cases recorded Thursday.

Osaka Prefecture also broke its record high with 6,254 cases, up from the previous record of 6,101 marked on Wednesday.

Aichi Prefecture had a record-setting 3,187 cases and Fukuoka Prefecture announced that it expects a record 2,668 cases for Friday.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced the same day that the nationwide number of patients seriously ill with COVID-19 increased by 117 to 404, surpassing 400 for the first time since Oct. 13.