Photo/Illutration Cars line up at a temporary drive-through clinic for fever outpatients at the parking lot of Almeida Memorial Hospital in Oita on Dec. 30. (Ryuta Kuratomi)

Japan reported a single-day record of 498 deaths related to COVID-19 on Jan. 5, while highs for newly confirmed infections were set in 12 prefectures, mainly in western parts of the country.

Overall, 231,053 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the nation as of 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.

One Kumamoto Prefecture official, however, said: “The reports may have been concentrated (on Jan. 5) because medical facilities were closed during the year-end and New Year holidays. We need to see how the situation develops.”

Nine of Japan’s 47 prefectures--Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma, Aichi, Mie, Shimane, Okayama, Fukuoka and Oita--posted their most COVID-19 deaths for a single day.

Aichi Prefecture had the highest number of deaths, with 34, followed by Tochigi Prefecture, with 33.

The 12 prefectures that saw record-high new cases were: Gunma, Gifu, Shimane, Okayama, Yamaguchi, Kagawa, Ehime, Saga, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki and Kagoshima.

Tokyo had the most new cases, with 20,735, up by 2,363 from the previous Thursday, followed by Osaka Prefecture, with 15,772, and Aichi Prefecture, with 13,174.

The deaths of 29 patients in their 50s and older were also reported in the capital.

The daily average of new cases over the week through Jan. 5 in Tokyo was 11,907.7, or 69.1 percent of the average for the preceding week.

The decrease reflects the fact that the latest period includes holidays when hospitals and clinics were closed, and testing was down.

People in their 20s represented the largest age group of new patients in Tokyo on Jan. 5, at 4,531, followed by 3,832 in their 30s and 3,471 in their 40s.

Additionally, 2,464 people aged 65 or older tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the capital.

The occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo was 55.3 percent, officials said.

They also said 53 patients, up by four from Jan. 4, were in serious condition and required ventilators or ECMO heart-lung bypass machines.

Related News