Coronavirus cases in Japan topped 8,000 on Tuesday evening, health ministry and local authorities said, one week after a state of emergency was declared for Tokyo and six other prefectures over the COVID-19 crisis here, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
According to the latest figures, the number of new infection rose by 482 nationwide, bringing the total to 8,173 infections.
These included 161 new cases confirmed in Tokyo, the nation's epicenter for the virus, and 59 cases in Osaka, also a hotbed for COVID-19.
The death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus now stands at a total of 174, including those from a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo, the latest figure showed.
Last Tuesday, Japan declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus in a bid to better empower prefectures to take measures to curb its spread.
The prefectures under the declaration are Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures, but other prefectures' governors have asked to be added to the list.
Other prefectures, meanwhile, have issued their own state of emergency independent of the central government and asked their residents to take various measures in a bid to prevent the virus' spread.
In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, Japanese "izakaya" pubs have been requested to close their doors at 8 p.m. and restaurants asked stop serving alcohol by 7 p.m. to dissuade people from gathering in groups in confined spaces.