Japan Reports 7,014 New COVID-19 Cases... Hospital Bed Shortage Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] According to Japan's public broadcaster on the 17th, the number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases across Japan on the previous day was 7,014. As a result, Japan's cumulative COVID-19 cases increased to 325,497.

The daily number of confirmed cases had recorded over 7,000 for three consecutive days from the 7th to the 9th, then dropped to the 4,000 range during the three-day holiday period (9th to 11th) due to a decrease in COVID-19 testing, before rising again to 7,132 on the 15th.

The Japanese government declared a state of emergency on the 8th for four metropolitan prefectures including Tokyo, urging residents to refrain from going out and shortening restaurant operating hours. On the 14th, the state of emergency was additionally declared for seven more metropolitan prefectures including Osaka, but the spread of COVID-19 has not stopped.

With the recent surge in infections, the shortage of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients is also worsening.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced yesterday that the number of COVID-19 patients receiving home care reached 30,208 as of the 12th, surpassing 30,000 for the first time. This figure is 1.7 times higher than the number announced the previous week.

To address the shortage of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, the Japanese government has decided to expedite the revision of the Infectious Diseases Control Law to allow recommending private hospitals to accept COVID-19 patients.