Over 6,000 new novel coronavirus cases confirmed in Japan

Courtesy of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases
An electron micrograph of the omicron variant of the novel coronavirus

The total number of new novel coronavirus cases in Japan exceeded 6,000 on Friday, for the first time since Sept. 15 last year, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun’s tally.

Okinawa Prefecture logged 1,414 cases on Friday, much higher than the 981 logged on Thursday, the previous record daily count for the prefecture.

Hiroshima Prefecture confirmed 429 new cases on Friday, exceeding 381, the record number seen on Aug. 21 last year. Yamaguchi Prefecture confirmed 180, the second-highest number after the previous day saw a record 181.

Tokyo confirmed 922 new coronavirus cases Friday. This is the first time since Sept. 15 that the daily number of cases in Tokyo has exceeded 900. At that time, the number was 1,058.