Tokyo records most new coronavirus cases in a day as pressure for lockdown builds

People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walking at China Town in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on Tuesday (March 31). As the the spread of the coronavirus continues, Japan has extended its highest travel warnings to 49 countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain, as well as all of China and South Korea. - AP

TOKYO: Tokyo recorded more than 70 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday(March 31) for its highest tally in a single day, as pressure built on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to order a lockdown with a minister saying Japan's containment strategy was stretched to the limit.

Domestic cases topped 2,000, and public broadcaster NHK said 78 cases in the Japanese capital took its tally of infections past 500.