Tokyo, Aug 4 (IANS): The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 309 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, with the figure marking the eighth straight day that cases have topped 200 in the Japanese capital.

The latest figure followed 258 new COVID-19 infections confirmed a day earlier, when the figure dropped for two straight days, coming off record highs late last week, when the capital logged 292 cases on Sunday and a record daily increase of 472 on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Of the 309 people testing positive Tuesday, 193 were in 20s and 30s accounting for about 62 per cent of the cases, the metropolitan government said.

Tokyo's cumulative total stands at 14,022, with roughly 50 per cent of new infections added in July alone, according to officials.

Tokyo has remained the epicentre of the outbreak in Japan with cases in July alone totalling 6,466, the highest figure for any month.

The metropolitan government has kept its alert level at the highest four-tier scale, meaning that "infections are spreading".

As of Tuesday, the total number of coronavirus cases in Japan stood at 40,073, with 1,018 deaths.