Japan's COVID-19 Cases Hit Record High for Three Consecutive Days Due to Omicron Variant Impact

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the spread of COVID-19 continues again in Japan, the number of new confirmed cases has broken the record for the highest number for three consecutive days, NHK and others reported on the 20th.

According to the report, the number of new COVID-19 cases nationwide in Japan was counted at 46,200 as of 6 p.m. that day. The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan first exceeded 30,000 on the 18th with 32,195 cases, and the day before, it rose to the 40,000 range with 41,477 cases.

The average daily number of confirmed cases over the recent week (13th to 19th) was 26,703, which is a 3.5-fold increase compared to the previous week (7,633). The cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases surpassed 2 million for the first time, reaching 2,026,562.

Recently in Japan, the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The capital, Tokyo Metropolis, raised its COVID-19 alert level to the highest level 4 on this day. This is the first time in four months since September last year that Tokyo has raised the alert level to level 4.

Earlier, the Japanese government applied additional emergency prevention measures called 'Priority Measures to Prevent Spread' from the 21st to 13 metropolitan and prefectural governments including Tokyo in response to the spread of COVID-19.

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