Photo/Illutration Public health nurses respond to telephone inquiries from COVID-19 patients, including those recuperating at home, in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Aug. 15. (Yosuke Fukudome)

COVID-19 patient deaths are increasing in Tokyo following a surge of new infections during the fifth wave of the novel coronavirus, with patients in their 50s making up a growing share.

There were 185 related deaths reported over the latest four weeks through Aug. 30, up 132 from the preceding four weeks.

Patients in their 50s accounted for one in five deaths.

Patients in their 30s to 50s have been taking up an increasingly larger share of the total, as the number of deaths has fallen among elderly people who were prioritized in receiving vaccinations.

The Tokyo metropolitan government announces the number of deaths every Monday broken down by age group. Based on that data, The Asahi Shimbun tallied the number of deaths for every four weeks.

In the capital, new infections spread rapidly from late July. More patients died in August because there is a lag before the number of deaths increases.

While the number of deaths for the four weeks through Aug. 2 was 53, the total for the four weeks through Aug. 30 shot up to 185.

The latest figure is much lower than the 452 from the third infection wave over the four weeks through March 15, the highest recorded in 2021. But it is about the same level as the 191 from the fourth wave during the four weeks through June 7.

Broken down by age group for the four weeks through March 15, there were no deaths of patients in their 30s, while those in their 40s made up 0.2 percent of the total and those in their 50s constituted 2.9 percent.

For the four weeks through Aug. 2, those in their 30s accounted for 1.9 percent, with people in their 40s at 3.8 percent and those in their 50s at 11.3 percent.

For the four weeks through Aug. 30, people in their 30s totaled 4.3 percent, with people in their 40s at 4.9 percent and those in their 50s at 20 percent.

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