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TOKYO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) – Japan on Wednesday confirmed a daily record of 3,271 COVID-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 206,988, not including those related to a quarantined cruise ship near Tokyo earlier in the year.
The nation’s death toll also hit a one-day high at 56, and the total death toll since the virus outbreak now stands at 3,082 people.
In Tokyo, the country hardest hit by the virus out of Japan’s 47 prefectures, 748 new infections were reported daily on Wednesday, marking the second-highest daily increase on record.
As cases continue to rise, for the past nine consecutive days, the capital has reported record cases for each day of the week. Tokyo’s cumulative total of COVID-19 cases now stands at 53,130 infections.
Last Thursday, Tokyo recorded a record 822 daily cases that prompted the Tokyo metropolitan government to raise its alert about the strain on the medical system to the highest on its four-tier scale, marking the first time that the higher alert level.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, while urging people to take more anti-virus measures during the end of the year and the New Year’s holiday period, has also asked people to refrain from unnecessary outings.
Despite the recent spike in virus cases and strain on the medical system, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said there is no need to declare a state of national emergency, though he said more restrictions can be put in place in bars and restaurants.
But the seriousness of the situation here is such that the Japan Medical Association and eight other health organizations declared a “state of medical emergency” on Monday.
The rate of spread of the virus in recent times has many experts extremely concerned about the possible collapse of the medical system, as the figure took less than two months to double to exceed the 200,000 mark, compared to nine and a half months. that was slow to arrive. hit the 100,000 mark since the first case was diagnosed in January.
“The spread of the virus has led to an increase in the number of hospitalized patients and those suffering from severe cases,” Takaji Wakita, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday.
“It will be difficult to manage general medical treatment in conjunction with the pandemic,” said Wakita, who also chairs a government panel of medical experts.
As for infections in other worst-hit areas in Japan, western Osaka prefecture reported 312 new cases for a total of 27,812, while neighboring Kanagawa prefecture in Tokyo reported 346 new daily infections for a total of 17,731 cases .
In central Japan’s Aichi prefecture, 239 cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total to 14,666, while in Hokkaido prefecture, Japan’s northernmost, infections rose by 114, to a total of 12,495. Final product
