Japan Reports Over 20,000 New COVID-19 Cases Again... Emergency Declaration Expansion Decided on 25th

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Japan's new COVID-19 cases rose again to over 20,000 on the 24th.

According to the public broadcaster NHK's tally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 6 p.m. that day was 21,570, an increase of 1,621 compared to a week earlier.

With the rapid increase in new infections, the number of deaths also rose by 42 in one day, reaching a cumulative total of 15,725.

According to NHK, the Japanese government plans to add eight prefectures?Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Okayama, and Hiroshima?to the areas under a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19.

Currently, a state of emergency has been declared in 13 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka.

The Japanese government is scheduled to hold a COVID-19 task force meeting on the 25th to officially decide on expanding the state of emergency.