NHK



 

In Japan, doctors and nurses are having a tough time dealing with surging coronavirus cases. July's trend of record-breaking daily case counts continues with health authorities across the country reporting yet another new high.

Japan confirmed nearly 210,000 new cases on Wednesday. Twenty-five prefectures logged record highs.

Tokyo remains the hotspot. It reported nearly 30,000 cases, a 40 percent increase in just a week.

The rapid surge in cases is crippling emergency transport services in the capital.

Officials say emergency crews are struggling to find free hospital beds. They say, this past week, it took more than five hours to find beds for over 80 patients. This comes as they try to respond to an increasing number of heatstroke patients.

Still, the prime minister says another round of restrictions on businesses is not needed yet, as the numbers of severe cases and deaths remain low.

Kishida Fumio says he has focused on measures to contain infections, such as expanding the eligibility for a fourth vaccine dose. He says it is aimed at keeping social and economic activities running.