THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 24, 2020 at 18:40 JST
People line up to get "Go To Eat" campaign coupons in Tokyo's Adachi Ward on Nov. 20. (Wataru Sekita)
The number of serious COVID-19 cases soared to 51 in Tokyo on Nov. 24, the most since late May and 10 higher than the day before, metropolitan health officials said.
That marked the most seriously ill patients since a state of emergency over the pandemic was lifted for the capital in late May.
Serious cases refer to patients requiring ventilators or on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) lung bypass machines, based on the metropolitan government’s own criteria.
On Nov. 24, Tokyo reported 186 new COVID-19 cases, the first time in eight days the daily count has dipped below 200. The last time was on Nov. 16, when 180 cases were logged.
While 53 new patients were in their 20s, the rest were spread over all age brackets. Ten patients were aged 9 or younger, eight were teenagers, 29 were in their 30s and 22 were in their 40s. The number of patients in their 50s stood at 21 and 36 were aged 65 or older.
The metropolitan government also said 11 patients who initially tested positive over four days earlier this month were later confirmed free of the virus in additional testing or due to errors in diagnosis.
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