The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 27,453 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, a decrease of about 3,700 from a week ago.

The seven-day average through Thursday was 24,347. That is nearly 20 percent down from the previous week.

Tokyo officials said there are 33 seriously ill patients on ventilators or ECMO heart-lung machines, down two from Wednesday.

They also said 27 people in their 60s to 90s died from the virus.

A panel of experts tasked with assessing the infection situation in Tokyo has warned of a growing burden on medical institutions.

They cited the number of hospitalized patients that rose to a record high of 4,424 on Wednesday.

The metropolitan government maintained its assessment that the infection situation and medical care provisions are at the most serious levels of the four-tier alert system.