NHK




 

Health authorities in Japan are urging people to take precautions against influenza. They say cases nationwide have surged by about 50 percent in the space of a week.

The Japan Institute for Health Security and others say there were 9,074 cases reported by more than 3,000 medical institutions nationwide in the seven days through last Sunday.
 

 

The average number of patients per institution was 2.36, up 0.8 from a week earlier. The figure rose in 44 of the country's 47 prefectures.

The health ministry is calling on people to take precautions such as washing hands and wearing masks, and to consider getting vaccinated.