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COVID-19 cases in Tokyo hit record high as concerns grow about strain on medical system

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:26, December 18, 2020

TOKYO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday confirmed a record 822 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the first time infections have topped the 800-mark in Tokyo and raising concerns about the strain on the medical system.

The latest figure for Japan's capital far surpasses the previous record of 678 confirmed on Wednesday amid growing concerns over the virus' resurgence.

The metropolitan government earlier Thursday raised its alert level to the highest on its four tier scale regarding the strain on the medical system brought about by the recent surge in novel coronavirus cases hitting the city.

The local government raising the alert level marks the first time it has done so since the outbreak of the virus in the country.

"We need to have a stronger sense of urgency, and I would like to share such a sense with Tokyo residents so as to protect our lives," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a press conference on the matter.

Hospitals in the capital of 14 million have been forced to use ordinary beds to treat patients with COVID-19, a panel of medical experts pointed out at a meeting of officials monitoring the virus situation.

The panel said if the situation in the capital continues for another fortnight unchecked there could be "serious consequences" with reference to the medical system in some quarters showing signs of buckling under the strain.

Around 3,000 beds in Tokyo have been allocated for COVID-19 patients, with nearly 70 percent of them already occupied as of the beginning of this week.

An additional 1,000 beds are trying to be secured for COVID-19 patients in the capital, Koike said.

Since mid-November in Tokyo, the hardest hit by the virus among Japan's 47 prefectures, the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising exponentially.

Tokyo's cumulative total of positive COVID-19 cases reached 49,490, according to official statistics released on Thursday evening.

Cases have also been soaring nationwide, with an all-time high of 3,211 infections reported across the country on Thursday, bringing the country's cumulative total to 190,935, not including those related to a cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo earlier in the year.

Other metropolitan areas aside from Tokyo are also contributing to the rise, including the hard-hit western prefecture of Osaka which reported 351 new cases, Tokyo's neighboring prefecture of Kanagawa which added 319 infections and Aichi Prefecture, where cases increased by 238, the statistics showed Thursday evening.

The national death toll reached 2,804 people as some medical professionals believe the country is currently in the grip of a "third wave" of infections and increased government intervention is needed to combat the further spread of the virus.