Japan Faces Escalation in COVID-19 Cases, Enters into 10th Wave

Tokyo, The Gulf Observer: Health ministry data released on Friday revealed that the average number of coronavirus patients in designated hospitals across Japan has been on the rise for 11 consecutive weeks, indicating that the country is now experiencing its 10th wave of COVID-19.

In the week through last Sunday, the average number of patients among the approximately 5,000 medical institutions stood at 16.15, marking an 8 percent increase from the previous week, with the total number of reported patients reaching 79,605, according to the data.

Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan recorded the highest rise among the 47 prefectures, with an average of 24.52 patients per institution. Notably, some reports were not included due to the severe impact of an earthquake on New Year’s Day.

In the most recent week, 41 prefectures, including Tokyo, reported increases in COVID-19 cases, with high averages also noted in Fukushima at 24.49 patients per institution and Aichi at 22.55. Okinawa Prefecture reported the lowest figure at 8.94, followed by Osaka at 9.36 and Aomori at 10.75.

New hospitalizations reported from approximately 500 medical institutions nationwide increased by 4 percent from the previous week, totaling 3,459.

Hiroshi Mukae, a director of the Japanese Respiratory Society and a professor at Nagasaki University, expressed concern, stating, “COVID-19 cases are clearly rising as we are in the 10th wave.” He also warned about the simultaneous spread of influenza and other contagions during the winter season.

Since the reclassification of COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza in May last year, the Japanese government has ceased the daily release of new cases and now provides weekly updates on the number of patients reported from designated institutions, along with the average number of cases among these facilities.