Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, said on Thursday the strain on its medical system from the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, raising its alert level to the highest of four stages as the number of cases spiked to a record high.

At a coronavirus monitoring committee meeting attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, a health official said it had become difficult to balance the care of coronavirus patients with regular ones as hospital beds filled up, assigning a "red" alert for medical preparedness for the first time.

The metropolis a month ago raised its coronavirus alert for new infections to the highest level. It had kept its alert for medical preparedness at the second-highest level at the time, indicating a need to boost hospital capacity but a notch below critical conditions.

The number of positive cases in Tokyo on Thursday reportedly surged to a daily record of more than 800, surpassing the previous record of 678 reached a day earlier.

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