Tokyo, Dec 24 (IANS): As Japan is grappling with an ongoing eighth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country registered 371 deaths due to the virus, the highest single-day tally since the outbreak began in early 2020, health authorities said.

The previous high of 347 Covid-19 deaths was reported on September 2 during the seventh wave, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as saying.

The new figure has pushed op the overall death toll to 54,680 as of Saturday morning.

Among prefectures, Kanagawa on Friday reported the highest number of deaths with 28, followed by Hokkaido with 25, Tokyo with 24, and Osaka with 19.

Japan also recorded 174,079 new cases on Friday, up about 20,000 from the same day last week.

The total caseload now stands at 27,939,118.

On Wednesday, there were 206,943 new cases, marking the first time that the single-day tally had surpassed the 200,000-mark since August 25.

The government, at a panel meeting to discuss measures against the spread of both Covid-19 and influenza, called on those with mild coronavirus symptoms to recover at home ahead of the New Year's period amid a rise in hospital bed occupancy rates.