THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 18, 2021 at 17:20 JST
A woman wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus takes a photo of cherry blossoms in Tokyo on March 17. (AP Photo)
Tokyo confirmed 323 new COVID-19 cases on March 18, according to metropolitan government officials, a day after topping 400 for the first time in about a month.
The figure for March 18 dropped by 12 from the 335 cases confirmed a week ago, and by 86 from the previous day, when the count was 409.
The latest tally brought the daily average for the week in the capital through March 18 to 297.1, or 108.8 percent of the figure from the week before.
The metropolitan government set a weekly goal to reduce the daily average to 70 percent of the previous week. But the figure is trending upward.
The number of serious cases in Tokyo requiring ventilators or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as an ECMO lung bypass machine, increased by three from the previous day to 44 on March 18, the officials said.
Of the 323 cases, 65 patients are in their 20s, followed by 48 in their 30s and 42 in their 50s. Seventy-five people aged 65 or older tested positive.
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