Japan's COVID-19 Cumulative Cases Surpass 300,000... Expansion of Emergency Declaration Areas

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] The cumulative number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Japan has surpassed 300,000.

According to NHK and others on the 13th, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Tokyo Metropolis increased by 1,433 on that day. Until the previous day, Japan's cumulative confirmed cases were 298,884. Considering the newly reported cases in Tokyo and other areas on that day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases is estimated to have exceeded 300,000.

This is approximately 4.3 times the cumulative confirmed cases in South Korea (70,212 as of 0:00 on the 13th).

As the COVID-19 situation in Japan did not improve, on the 8th, a state of emergency was declared in four metropolitan areas including Tokyo Metropolis, Saitama·Kanagawa·and Chiba Prefecture. However, the spread of infection has not been curbed.

Following this, demands for additional state of emergency declarations in other regions continued, and on this day, a state of emergency was additionally declared in seven areas including Osaka Prefecture. As a result, the state of emergency has been declared in 11 out of the 47 prefectures nationwide.