The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan came to 98,374 on Friday, exceeding 90,000 for the third day in a row, while a total of 103 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed.
The daily count rose above 100 for the first time since June 3 last year.
The health ministry said that the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients across the country stood at 1,042 as of Thursday, up by 131 from Wednesday. The figure was over 1,000 for the first time in around four months.
The number of patients with severe symptoms marked a record high of 2,223 on Sept. 3 last year, amid the fifth infection wave in the country. After falling below 1,000 on Sept. 28, the tally fluctuated around 50 in early January this year.
The number, however, has started to soar recently in line with the spread of the omicron variant.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 19,798 new positive cases on Friday, a record high for the day, after the daily tally topped 20,000 for two days in a row.
According to the metropolitan government, the occupancy rate for hospital beds for COVID-19 patients rose 1 percentage point from Thursday to 54.1%.
The number of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms under Tokyo’s criteria stood at 41, up by three from Thursday. Eight deaths were reported among those infected with the virus.
Osaka Prefecture saw 13,561 cases тАФ including 2,921 cases that were confirmed between late January and early February but could not be reflected in the released data because of registration delays тАФ and four deaths. Neighboring Hyogo Prefecture logged 5,598 cases and seven deaths.
Chiba Prefecture reported a record high 5,518 cases, as well as seven deaths, and Kyoto Prefecture saw a record high of 2,878 cases and three deaths. Hokkaido posted 3,543 cases and 16 deaths.
The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in Japan as of Thursday grew by 131 from the previous day to 1,042, topping 1,000 for the first time since September last year, the health ministry said Friday.
The daily number of COVID-19 patients with serious symptoms was around 50 in early January after temporarily surpassing 2,000 during the fifth infection wave in summer last year.
On Thursday, the daily number of new coronavirus cases in Japan exceeded 100,000 for the first time to total 104,470, pushing the country’s cumulative total of COVID-19 cases above 3 million.
Japan’s cumulative count exceeded 1 million in August last year and rose above the 2 million mark about five months later, on Jan. 20 this year. Coronavirus cases increased by another million in just two weeks, reflecting the rapid spread of the omicron variant.
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