Japan Reports Over 60,000 New COVID-19 Cases for the First Time

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Japan's daily new COVID-19 cases have surpassed 60,000 for the first time.

According to NHK broadcasting on the 25th, as of 7 p.m. that day, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan was counted at 62,612. This is 8,052 more than the previous record of 54,560 cases on the 22nd.

Japan had about 320 daily cases on the 25th of last month, but infections have been explosively increasing recently due to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Screening tests conducted over a week until the 24th in Tokyo Metropolis revealed that about 99% of confirmed cases are suspected to be the Omicron variant.

On this day, the Japanese government decided to additionally apply the 'Priority Measures to Prevent Spread,' a type of emergency measure, to 18 prefectures including Hokkaido. Including the 16 metropolitan and prefectural governments such as Tokyo where the measures were already applied, the total rises to 34. This accounts for about 72% of the 47 prefectures nationwide.

Under the priority measures, restaurants and other businesses must shorten their operating hours. Authorities request certified restaurants implementing infection prevention measures to close by 9 p.m.

Whether alcohol is served in restaurants varies by region depending on the decision of the head of the metropolitan or prefectural government. Overall, restrictions related to alcohol sales are looser compared to last summer when a state of emergency was declared or priority measures were applied.

The third dose COVID-19 vaccination rate is 2.1% according to the latest announcement by the Japanese government.