Japan sets new record for daily COVID-19 cases

Japan’s daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 180,000 on Thursday, setting a new record for the second day in a row, according to statistics from Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.

The Tokyo metropolitan government has reported 31,878 cases of the coronavirus, surpassing 30,000 for the first time. The previous record of 21,562 cases was recorded on February 2.

Record numbers have been reported in 35 out of 47 prefectures in Japan amid the seventh wave sweeping the Asian country.

Records have been set in Tokyo and other prefectures, including Osaka and Fukuoka, where the BA.5 omicron variant is spread across the country.

In Osaka Prefecture in western Japan, a record 22,047 cases were confirmed, exceeding the 21,976 cases recorded the previous day. While in Fukuoka, in the southwest of the country, 10,752 cases were reported, exceeding 10,000 for the first time.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said her administration was “doing everything in its power to improve its health system” and called on residents to get booster doses and take other precautionary measures.

Tokyo has reported more than 10,000 cases per day since July 12.

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At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there was “a need to monitor the impact on the health system with the utmost caution” while ruling out the possibility of movement restrictions.

Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto noted that the increase in cases “could increase the number of patients with severe symptoms and affect the health care system, as it can cause staph infections in facilities with high-risk people, such as hospitals and homes for the elderly.” “.

The latest nationwide tally came as Japan reported 152,536 cases on Wednesday after records were confirmed in 30 out of 47 prefectures.

Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases, the government reiterated that there are no plans to impose restrictions on movement.

The head of the Health Ministry’s advisory committee on the epidemic, Takagi Wakita, said some members had asked the government to consider imposing restrictions such as declaring a state of emergency in prefectures experiencing a rapid spread of the virus.

According to the panel, teens and children have been the most vulnerable in the current wave. However, the recent rise in cases among people aged 60 or older raises concern that more patients will develop severe symptoms.

As Japan enters the summer holiday season, concerns are growing in the tourism and restaurant industries that a new wave of infections could further damage businesses already affected by previous waves.

Anadolu Agency website contains only part of the news stories presented to subscribers on the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summary.