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Japan's new COVID-19 cases top 90,000, first time in 5 months
The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 16,878 coronavirus cases, surpassing the 10,000 mark for a second straight day and more than doubling from the level a week earlier. Osaka Prefecture also logged 10,452 cases, topping 10,000 for the first time since Feb. 26.
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A woman protects herself from the sun with an umbrella during a heatwave as she crosses the street in Tokyo's Shibuya district on August 4, 2019.
(AFP/Charly TRIBALLEAU )
J
apan's new COVID-19 cases topped 90,000 for the first time since Feb. 17 on Wednesday, official data showed, as public health experts said the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is fueling a seventh wave of infections.
The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 16,878 coronavirus cases, surpassing the 10,000 mark for a second straight day and more than doubling from the level a week earlier. Osaka Prefecture also logged 10,452 cases, topping 10,000 for the first time since Feb. 26.
Health minister Shigeyuki Goto said in a meeting of a panel of experts that the government forecasts new infections will continue to increase in many areas of the country.
The number of coronavirus infections on Tuesday rose 2.14 times from the level a week earlier, according to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare data.
"We would like the people to fully take measures to prevent infections such as mask wearing," Goto told the meeting.
Mirroring the resurgence of infections, record one-day infections were logged in some prefectures, including Okinawa with 3,518, Kagoshima with 1,579 and Wakayama with 630.
Aichi reported 6,364 cases, topping 6,000 for the second consecutive day. Hyogo reported 4,158 infections, surpassing 4,000 for the first time since Feb. 26.
The government said earlier it has ruled out restrictions on people's movements in response to the new surge in infections, although it now plans to postpone the launch of a nationwide travel subsidy program it had envisioned for the first half of July.
