Photo/Illutration Health minister Katsunobu Kato speaks at a meeting of an expert panel advising the ministry on COVID-19 measures on Jan. 11. (Mirei Jinguji)

Japan reported 520 deaths related to COVID-19 on Jan. 11, the first time the single-day toll has topped 500.

The previous record of 498 deaths was set on Jan. 5.

The number of deaths has been rising since the end of 2022, except for the holiday period when medical facilities, which file reports on COVID-19 cases, were closed.

“We are concerned that it will further increase,” an expert panel advising the health ministry on COVID-19 measures said at a meeting on Jan. 11.

Nine of Japan’s 47 prefectures—Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Mie, Shiga, Ehime, Kochi, Fukuoka, Oita and Miyazaki--posted their most COVID-19 deaths for a single day on Jan. 11.

Fukuoka Prefecture had the highest number of deaths, with 45.

As of 7:30 p.m. that day, 203,393 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed around the nation.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato said at the expert panel meeting that fatalities and cases in which strained hospitals cannot accept emergency patients “continue to increase and renew their highest levels.”

Kato said the government would closely monitor three things: the impact from the year-end and New Year holidays and the recent three-day weekend; the spread of seasonal flu; and the COVID-19 situation in China.

According to an Asahi Shimbun tally, the daily average of deaths over the week through Dec. 25 reached a record high of 293.1, exceeding 293 in the week to Sept. 3, the peak of the seventh wave of novel coronavirus infections.

The single-day figure temporarily decreased during the year-end and New Year holidays, but it has since continued to set records--333.1 on Jan. 7 and 376.9 on Jan. 10.

Takaji Wakita, director-general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases who heads the expert panel, said deaths not directly caused by COVID-19 are increasing.

“Patients die from the deterioration of underlying conditions, as well as senility among the elderly,” he said at a news conference. “Some say the actual number of infected people may be even higher.”

He said a further analysis of the situation is needed.

The expert panel on Jan. 11 also said the infectious disease category of COVID-19 under the Infectious Disease Law should be reclassified in stages while the necessary preparations are made.

Currently, COVID-19 is listed in Category 2, the second highest in the five-tier system.

If COVID-19 is downgraded, legal restrictions on the activities of infected people or those in close contact with them will be lifted.

Panel members said such changes on the restrictions will not have large impact.

The panel said the public is widely aware of preventative measures, such as wearing masks, and “restrictions on activities have not gained their understanding.”

Panel members also noted that health authorities have virtually stopped designating people in close contact with infected people.

(This article was written by Mirei Jinguji, Tokiko Tsuji and Yuki Edamatsu.)

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