THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 8, 2021 at 18:30 JST
Commuters wearing face masks are seen during rush hour in Tokyo on Jan. 8. (AP Photo)
Tokyo confirmed 2,392 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 8 as 7,776 new infections were reported across Japan as of 6 p.m., the fourth straight daily national record.
The capital marked the second consecutive day the count has surpassed 2,000, following a record 2,447 cases on Jan. 7, according to metropolitan government officials. The latest tally exceeded 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day.
Kanagawa Prefecture also recorded a daily high of new COVID-19 cases with 838, and Osaka Prefecture reported a new record with 655.
In Tokyo, the number of serious cases requiring ventilators or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as an ECMO lung bypass machine, rose by eight from the previous day to a record 129 on Jan. 8, the officials said.
More than 50 percent of the 250 hospital beds set aside for seriously ill patients in the capital were filled.
A total of 711 of the new patients are in their 20s, followed by 536 in their 30s, 340 in their 40s and 298 in their 50s. There were 235 patients aged 65 or older.
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