Japan is on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of daily coronavirus infections, the prime minister has said, though no immediate restrictions are planned.

More than 2,000 cases were recorded nationwide on Wednesday, with nearly 500 in the capital Tokyo alone.

“We are now in a situation of maximum alert,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters, according to AFP.

“I ask you, the Japanese people, to fully implement principles such as wearing masks,” Suga added, urging people to wear them even while talking during meals in restaurants.