Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
TOKYO: Coronavirus cases in Japan increased by 467 nationwide, including 127 new infections in Tokyo and 74 in Osaka, health ministry and local authorities said as of Wednesday evening, bringing the nationwide total to 8,640.
The death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus now stands at a total of 189, including those from a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo, the latest figures showed.
In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, a total of 2,446 infections have been confirmed, accounting for well over one-third of all COVID-19 cases across the nation, followed by Osaka Prefecture where cases have spiked to 968 infections.
Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, has recorded 619 infections, Chiba Prefecture 537 cases, Saitama Prefecture 463 infections, Hyogo Prefecture 423 cases and Fukuoka Prefecture has recorded 436 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures Wednesday afternoon.
The health ministry here also said there are currently a total of 173 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.
The ministry also said that in total, 1,546 people have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved, according to the latest figures.
On April 7, Japan declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus crisis in a bid to better empower hard-hit prefectures to take enhanced measures to curb the spread of the virus.
The prefectures under the declaration are Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures, but other prefectures' governors have asked to be added to the list.
Some prefectures, meanwhile, have issued their own state of emergency, independent of the central government, and asked their residents to take various precautionary measures in a bid to prevent the virus' spread.
