Tokyo has reported a record increase in cases for three consecutive days, including 3,865 on Thursday.
Tokyo: Japan is set to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo to neighboring regions and the western city of Osaka on Friday in the wake of a record-breaking rise in infections, while the capital hosts the Olympics.
A government panel approved plans to place Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, as well as Osaka, under a state of emergency from Monday to August 31. The measures already in place in Tokyo and the southern island of Okinawa will be extended until the end of August. .
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is due to officially announce the measures later on Friday.
Five other regions, including Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, will be placed under less stringent emergency restrictions.
Tokyo has reported a record increase in cases for three consecutive days, including 3,865 on Thursday.
Cases have doubled since last week, and officials have warned they could reach 4,500 a day within two weeks.
Officials said there were 2,995 hospitalizations, almost half of the current capacity of 6,000 beds, with some hospitals already full. More than 10,000 others were isolated at home or in designated hotels, with about 5,600 waiting at home while health centers decided where they would be treated.
At a meeting of government experts on Friday, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said the spike in Tokyo despite a state of emergency for two weeks was an “alarming development that is different from what we have seen before.” Nationwide, Japan on Thursday reported 10,687 confirmed cases, surpassing 10,000 for the first time. Since the pandemic began, it has recorded 15,166 deaths from COVID-19, including 2,288 in Tokyo.
Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is rising and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people nationwide and 88 per 100,000 in Tokyo, according to the health ministry. According to Johns Hopkins University data, it is 18.5 in the United States, 48 in the UK and 2.8 in India.
The emergency measures focused on banning alcohol in eateries and karaoke bars and their shortened hours, but they have become less effective as people are only requested to stay and work from home. Many were defying the measures at a time when the more infectious Delta strain was spreading.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike noted that adults in her 30s or younger dominate recent cases and reminded them to follow basic anti-virus measures, including wearing masks and avoiding parties.
As of Thursday, 27 percent of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated. The percentage of fully vaccinated elderly people is 71.5 percent.
Now you can get selected stories from here Telangana Today Feather Wire Everyday. Click on the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today facebook page And Twitter .