TOKYO – The number of Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms here yesterday rose to a record of 176, the Tokyo metropolitan government said, as the capital struggles to contain the resurgence driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
It well exceeded the previous record of 160 cases on January 20. Of the 176 patients, 70% are people in their 50s or younger. These age groups are facing a slow vaccination drive, reported Kyodo News, Japan’s news agency.
“This is a problem about lives at stake, and various countermeasures are required,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters.
Daily new Covid-19 cases in the capital totalled 2,612 yesterday after topping 4,000 cases for five consecutive days through Sunday when the Tokyo Olympics ended.
Tokyo’s seven-day rolling average of new infections was 3,978 per day, up by 19.2% from a week earlier.
The latest tally comes after Tokyo saw 2,884 new cases on the previous day, the highest for a Monday.
Separate data by the central government showed a total of 84 coronavirus patients recuperating at home died in the first six months of the year.
The government recently changed its policy on Covid-19 patient treatment, only allowing people with severe symptoms to be hospitalised to prevent a hospital bed shortage. – Bernama, August 11, 2021
