Japan's Daily COVID-19 Cases Near 50,000... Request to Expand Key Measures Application

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Japan's daily new COVID-19 cases have approached 50,000.

According to NHK, as of 6:40 PM on that day, 49,854 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed across Japan's 47 prefectures. This marks the fourth consecutive day of record-high daily cases.

Due to the spread of the Omicron variant and other factors, new COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly. The average daily number of cases over the past week (14th to 20th) was 30,608, a 3.2-fold increase compared to the previous week (9,687). By region, Tokyo reported 9,699 cases, Osaka Prefecture 6,254, Kanagawa Prefecture 3,412, and Aichi Prefecture 3,187.

The Japanese government is responding to the spread of COVID-19 by applying the "Priority Measures to Prevent Spread," a quarantine emergency measure, to 16 metropolitan areas including Tokyo. In areas where these priority measures, which are a step before a "state of emergency," are applied, restaurants face restrictions on operating hours and alcohol service.

According to Kyodo News, on this day, five metropolitan areas including Osaka requested the government to apply the priority measures, and eight other metropolitan areas including Hokkaido are preparing to make requests. If the Japanese government decides to additionally apply the priority measures to these 13 regions, the quarantine emergency measures will cover 29 out of the 47 metropolitan areas, accounting for more than half.