Japan logs over 20,000 new virus cases for 1st time
The nation reached a new and disturbing milestone on Friday by recording over 20,000 new cases of coronavirus infections for the first time, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun tally.
A total of 20,240 new cases were confirmed across the country, with record daily highs logged in more than 10 prefectures, including Tokyo (5,773), Kanagawa (2,281), Saitama (1,696), Chiba (1,089) and Kyoto (450).
The nationwide number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients also reached a record high, with 1,478 as of midnight Thursday night.
According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, the number of seriously ill patients in the capital rose by nine from Thursday to 227, marking an all-time high for the fourth consecutive day. Tokyo also had seven confirmed deaths on Friday, all of people in their 50s to 90s.
The seven-day moving average of new infections in Tokyo came to 4,155, an increase of 9% from the preceding seven-day span of 3,820, the metropolitan government said.
In Chiba Prefecture, a woman in her 80s became the first COVID-19 patient in the prefecture to die while convalescing at home.
