Japan Reports Over 20,000 New COVID-19 Cases for 5 Consecutive Days... Severe Cases Exceed 2,000

People are lining up early in the morning on the 28th to receive lottery tickets at a "no reservation required" COVID-19 vaccination site established near the busy Shibuya Station in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan, currently in the fifth wave of the pandemic, continues to remain in the 20,000 range daily.

On the 28th, the total number of newly confirmed COVID-19 infections across Japan was 22,750 (as of 7 PM NHK report), including 3,581 cases in Tokyo, marking the fifth consecutive day with cases in the 20,000 range. The cumulative number of confirmed cases has risen to 1,440,722, and the death toll increased by 42 in one day to reach 15,921.

As new infections continue to occur daily in the 20,000 range, several indicators of the infection situation, including the number of severe cases, are worsening. The number of severe COVID-19 patients nationwide receiving treatments such as ventilator support has increased to 2,060. Due to this, the occupancy rate of severe care beds in the capital Tokyo has exceeded 94%, raising concerns about the collapse of the healthcare system nationwide.

Due to a shortage of dedicated hospital beds, the number of patients receiving home care, which is rapidly increasing, was estimated to be close to 120,000 as of midnight on the 25th. Japanese authorities are pushing to expand temporary medical facilities as cases of patients’ symptoms rapidly worsening and resulting in death during home care continue to rise, but the situation remains difficult due to shortages of medical personnel and other factors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.