All national papers reported that approximately 1,900 people across Japan tested positive for the novel coronavirus yesterday , including 394 in Tokyo and 266 in Osaka, noting that the nationwide figure is close to the levels recorded in early February. Cases were on the rise not only in urban prefectures but also in the countryside, with Ehime (59) and Yamagata (49) each reporting record numbers of cases on Thursday. Cases in Miyagi were also high, with 161 people testing positive. Commenting on the gradual rise in new cases in the nation’s capital, public health experts expressed alarm over the possibility of the arrival of a wave of infection that is “bigger than the third wave.”