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▼ Japan's COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 20,000 As Nation Logs 98,000 New Cases
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The cumulative COVID-19 death toll in Japan topped 20,000 on Friday, with the figure growing in recent weeks amid the sixth wave of infections, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant, a Kyodo News tally showed.
Japan has seen multiple days of over 100 deaths this year, mostly among the elderly population, with the fast-spreading variant straining the country’s medical system. Over 150 deaths were reported Friday.
According to earlier data from the health ministry, 84% of the deaths were people in their 70s or above. Meanwhile, there were 27 deaths among those in their 20s and four among those age 10 to 19.
Japan confirmed its first death from COVID-19 on Feb. 13, 2020. The nationwide infection tally hit 10,000 on April 26 last year amid the fourth wave of infections.
Deaths attributed to COVID-19 have surpassed 5.79 million worldwide, with the United States being the hardest hit country in the world with just over 915,600 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Japan’s total number of coronavirus infections stands at about 3.68 million cases, giving the country a death rate of about 0.5%.
Takaji Wakita, an expert who sits on a health ministry advisory panel, said the number of deaths has increased due to the large numbers of infections, even though the omicron variant is less deadly than the delta strain that caused a surge last summer.
“The key now is how to reduce infections in the elderly population. It is important to advance countermeasures at elderly facilities and efforts to administer booster shots,” he said.
Only about 7.9% of the population had received booster shots as of Thursday. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is seeking to rev up inoculations, setting a target of 1 million booster shots a day by the end of February.
In line with the government’s request for businesses to support its vaccination drive, major corporations are preparing to administer booster shots to their employees and others.
According to a Kyodo News survey conducted between Jan. 20 and Monday, 118, or over 90%, of the 125 major companies that responded said they are planning on or considering workplace inoculations.
Among the 118 firms, 32, including Sumitomo Chemical Co. and Kao Corp., said they plan to begin administering the shots this month, while 60 said they will start in March.
Five companies said they do not plan to offer workplace vaccinations, with some saying that the importance of workplace inoculation has decreased as municipalities have strengthened their vaccination capacity.
Japan confirmed 98,370 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 18,660 cases in Tokyo, with the capital marking the third straight day of week-on-week declines amid early signs that the sixth wave of the pandemic may have peaked.
The figure compared with 19,798 cases a week earlier — a decrease of 1,138 cases. The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in the capital under the metropolitan government’s criteria increased by two from Thursday to 61. Nine deaths were reported among those infected.
Osaka Prefecture reported its second highest daily figure with 15,302 new cases and 27 deaths, while Kanagawa Prefecture saw 8,125 new cases and 18 deaths and Aichi Prefecture logged 6,639 cases and 13 deaths.
Tokyo, Osaka and 33 other prefectures have been under a COVID-19 quasi-emergency, under which dining establishments are asked to shorten business hours and people to refrain from nonessential travel between prefectures.
The government on Thursday extended the measure in the capital and 12 prefectures by three weeks through March 6, beyond its previous deadline on Sunday.
Japan has seen multiple days of over 100 deaths this year, mostly among the elderly population, with the fast-spreading variant straining the country’s medical system. Over 150 deaths were reported Friday.
According to earlier data from the health ministry, 84% of the deaths were people in their 70s or above. Meanwhile, there were 27 deaths among those in their 20s and four among those age 10 to 19.
Japan confirmed its first death from COVID-19 on Feb. 13, 2020. The nationwide infection tally hit 10,000 on April 26 last year amid the fourth wave of infections.
Deaths attributed to COVID-19 have surpassed 5.79 million worldwide, with the United States being the hardest hit country in the world with just over 915,600 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Japan’s total number of coronavirus infections stands at about 3.68 million cases, giving the country a death rate of about 0.5%.
Takaji Wakita, an expert who sits on a health ministry advisory panel, said the number of deaths has increased due to the large numbers of infections, even though the omicron variant is less deadly than the delta strain that caused a surge last summer.
“The key now is how to reduce infections in the elderly population. It is important to advance countermeasures at elderly facilities and efforts to administer booster shots,” he said.
Only about 7.9% of the population had received booster shots as of Thursday. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is seeking to rev up inoculations, setting a target of 1 million booster shots a day by the end of February.
In line with the government’s request for businesses to support its vaccination drive, major corporations are preparing to administer booster shots to their employees and others.
According to a Kyodo News survey conducted between Jan. 20 and Monday, 118, or over 90%, of the 125 major companies that responded said they are planning on or considering workplace inoculations.
Among the 118 firms, 32, including Sumitomo Chemical Co. and Kao Corp., said they plan to begin administering the shots this month, while 60 said they will start in March.
Five companies said they do not plan to offer workplace vaccinations, with some saying that the importance of workplace inoculation has decreased as municipalities have strengthened their vaccination capacity.
Japan confirmed 98,370 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 18,660 cases in Tokyo, with the capital marking the third straight day of week-on-week declines amid early signs that the sixth wave of the pandemic may have peaked.
The figure compared with 19,798 cases a week earlier — a decrease of 1,138 cases. The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in the capital under the metropolitan government’s criteria increased by two from Thursday to 61. Nine deaths were reported among those infected.
Osaka Prefecture reported its second highest daily figure with 15,302 new cases and 27 deaths, while Kanagawa Prefecture saw 8,125 new cases and 18 deaths and Aichi Prefecture logged 6,639 cases and 13 deaths.
Tokyo, Osaka and 33 other prefectures have been under a COVID-19 quasi-emergency, under which dining establishments are asked to shorten business hours and people to refrain from nonessential travel between prefectures.
The government on Thursday extended the measure in the capital and 12 prefectures by three weeks through March 6, beyond its previous deadline on Sunday.
- February 12, 2022
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