Tokyo's governor has called for restaurants, bars and karaoke parlours to shut earlier to help contain the coronavirus as the Japanese capital reported a record number of new infections, AFP reports.

“The current situation is more serious than before,” said Yuriko Koike, citing experts. “There were several clusters in Tokyo [...] We have no time to waste,” she said, adding the number of infections through group dining is increasing.

The number of cases has been on the rise since the government lifted a state of emergency two months ago. “Tokyo will have to declare a state of emergency if the situation gets worse,” Koike said.