TOKYO, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday confirmed a record 602 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the first time infections have topped the 600-mark.

The latest novel coronavirus figure for Japan's capital city comes on the heels of the nationwide tally of infected patients and those in severe conditions reaching an all-time high reported a day earlier.

The figure also compares to the previous record of 584 new daily cases confirmed in the capital on Saturday.

Tokyo, the hardest hit by the virus among all of Japan's 47 prefectures, has now seen 45,529 people test positive for the pneumonia-causing virus.