Japan COVID-19 Monday New Cases Reach Highest in 11 Weeks

Tokyo dining district with shortened business hours due to 'COVID-19 priority measures.' On the 12th, the number of COVID-19 infections across Japan reached 2,202 (7:10 PM). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan on Monday reached the highest level in 11 weeks.

According to NHK, on the 12th, the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan was 2,202 (as of 7:10 PM). This is the highest Monday figure since January 25, when there were 2,764 cases. Typically, the number of COVID-19 tests tends to decrease before the weekend. Japan's cumulative number of confirmed cases stands at 509,706, with 9,446 deaths.

Despite the number of new cases exceeding 1,000, the Japanese government is proceeding with the Tokyo Olympic torch relay. On the 22nd of last month, the state of emergency in the metropolitan area was fully lifted. Although new cases surged mainly in Osaka, the government did not reissue the state of emergency but implemented "priority measures to prevent the spread."

The Japanese government plans to supply vaccines to local governments by the end of June to vaccinate the elderly, who make up about 30% (36 million people) of the total population.