Osaka set to report new daily record of Covid-19 cases

TOKYO (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Japan’s western prefecture of Osaka will record about 6,000 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday (Jan 18), the Kyodo news agency said, far surpassing the previous all-time high of 3,760 set on the weekend.

The number of new cases in capital Tokyo is also nearing a record due to a resurgence driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. It has pushed Japan’s new cases close to a new high with more than 25,000 in recent days.

The governors of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures agreed this week to ask the central government for infection-fighting measures, such as shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants.

Ten prefectures have made such requests, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Tuesday.

An official decision on the quasi-emergency measures, as they are called, is likely to be made on Friday.

That would follow this month’s curbs in three regions hosting US military facilities, after it appeared that base outbreaks of Omicron spilled into surrounding communities.

Tokyo’s occupancy rate of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients rose to 21.1 per cent on Monday, crossing a key threshold for additional pandemic measures.

An increase to 50 per cent would warrant declaration of a full state of emergency.

Japan's roll-out of booster shots is starting to get off the ground, beginning with medical workers.

Covid-19 vaccination has largely been entrusted to local governments, which distribute vouchers to residents for redemption at local clinics.

This was supplemented last year by mass vaccination sites in major urban areas. A site in central Tokyo operated by the Self-Defence Forces will reopen on Jan 31, NHK reported on Tuesday.