
The Tokyo metropolitan government building
15:55 JST, July 14, 2022
The Tokyo metropolitan government has raised its coronavirus alert level on Thursday to the most severe level on its four-level scale.
The infection alert level was raised amid a rapid increase in new infections.
The alert level for the medical system, which the metropolitan government also measures on a four-level scale, has been raised to the second most serious level.
The official decision was made at a meeting on Thursday afternoon.
It is the first time for the capital to come under the most serious infection alert since April 21. The seven-day moving average of daily infection cases in Tokyo was around 1,000 until mid-June, but exceeded 2,000 on June 26. The figure surpassed 5,000 on July 7 and topped 10,000 on Wednesday.
The surge is believed to be due to the BA.5 subvariant of the omicron variant replacing the conventional variants.
The hospital bed occupancy rate is increasing as well. The metropolitan government had secured about 5,000 beds for COVID-19 patients until early June, but has requested medical institutions to increase the number to a total of 7,000, as the bed occupancy rate exceeded 40% on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday, the occupancy rate stood at 31.7%, according to the metropolitan government.
"Society" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Over 300 Earthquakes Rumble in Sea Off Japan’s Kagoshima Pref. Islands, Putting Residents on Alert
-
Typhoon Sepat Forms near Ogasawara Islands
-
M5.1 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture Islands
-
46-year-old Man Killed by Bear in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture; 2nd Man Sustained Minor Injuries
-
22 Mil. Admissions Needed for Osaka-Kansai Expo to Be Profitable, Organizer Says; Average of 130,000 Visitors Necessary Per Day
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
Japan’s Agriculture Ministry Starts Survey of Rice Farmers Across Japan on Production Outlook
-
Japan Eyes Hosting Major International Standards Conference in 2029; Govt Making Plans to Host IEC Event in Yokohama
-
Agriculture Minister Considers Review of Japan’s Rice Harvest Statistics (UPDATE 1)
-
Japan’s Core Inflation Hits 2-year High, Keeps Rate-Hike Bets Alive
-
Carmakers’ Anxiety Grows as U.S. Tariff Talks Stall;Japan Exporters May Have No Choice But to Raise Prices