Japan surpasses 10,000 daily cases of coronavirus for the first time in 4 months by Omicron

Japan this Wednesday surpassed the barrier of 10,000 daily cases of covid-19 for the first time in four months in the middle of the sixth wave of infections in the country, where cases are multiplying rapidly along with the spread of the omicron strain.

The last time that the archipelago exceeded ten thousand cases was on September 9, 2021, in the remission of the fifth wave that left the hitherto record of new infections in the country in mid-August, 25,992 people.

Japan has experienced a notable increase in infections in the last week, in which they have multiplied by ten compared to the previous seven days, according to Health figures.

In Tokyo (east) alone, the number of cases has increased fivefold since last week. The metropolitan area recorded 2,198 cases today, compared to 390 recorded last Wednesday. The figure for this Wednesday is also almost double that of the day before.

In Osaka prefecture (west) 1,711 cases were counted for this Wednesday, over a thousand also since September and almost seven times more than in the previous week.

In Okinawa, in the southwest of the archipelago, a similar figure was recorded, 1,644 infections, while Yamaguchi (west) saw a record number for the province, 182.

Okinawa and Yamaguchi are, together with neighboring Hiroshima, the first prefectures to reactivate the health alert and resume some restrictions, aimed at bars and restaurants, to try to stop the increase in infections.

The increase in covid cases is associated with “an increase in the number of seriously ill people,” said the Japanese government spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno, noting that omicron cases with no known route are also increasing.

The variant “is replacing the delta strain. It spreads fast, so we have to be very cautious,” he added.

Neither Tokyo nor other urban areas that are experiencing a rebound in cases have requested for the moment the reactivation of restrictions, said the spokesman, who said they will take “appropriate measures” in coordination with local authorities.

The Minister of Health, Shigeyuki Goto, recently assured that although the situation in Tokyo and Osaka “is serious, the health system is not threatened” for the moment.